Goode High School: Percy vs Clarisse
by leisurexx
Summary: It's been a month after the defeat of Kronos. Percy is a junior at Goode High School and he's missing Camp Half-Blood and his girlfriend Annabeth. He attends school but sees a surprise twist to his first day: Clarisse. Will they survive highschool together? Or will they rebel against each other in school. Read to find out! Updated (6/27/14) CHAPTER 13 IS UP!
1. School begins

_A Half-blood of the eldest gods_

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds_  
_To see the world in endless sleep,_  
_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap._  
_A single choice shall end his days._

_Olympus to preserve or raze_

Percy woke up in sweats. He stopped his alarm clock from blaring a minute before it was set to do so. It was 6:59, and Percy was dead tired. He sat in bed thinking about what he had just dreamt.

"The prophecy? Why can't I get that out of my head." He thought to himself.

He managed to get up from bed. "It's chilly today, why isn't the heater on?" he thought to himself whilst looking for a sweatshirt. He threw one on and went to the bathroom. He grabbed his toothbrush and paused for a second and thought about the prophecy. It had been a month since Luke had died, since Kronos was defeated, a month since he had heard from Annabeth. He sighed then continued to brush his teeth. He then washed his face, he felt relaxed while splashing the water on his face. It made him think of his dad, Poseidon, and Tyson. He wondered how his half brother was. He finished cleaning, grabbed some jeans and headed downstairs. He thought about today, and how his first day of school would go. He was distracted as he smelled the bacon cooking, and heard the cooking of his scrambled eggs.

"Good morning, Percy." His mother Sally said cheerfully.

"Morning Mom, where's Paul?" he asked while sniffing the bacon.

"He's taking a shower, he'll be down." She said, then hummed a tune.

Percy smiled at his mother's happiness. She deserved it, considering how much she had suffered with her previous husband; Gabe. He felt bad that his mother had to go through so much in order to keep him safe. Not only was Percy's mother happy with her new boyfriend, Paul, but he was also happy. He treated Percy fairly, and was a really nice guy. Percy's mom laid out some scrambled eggs and 4 strips of bacon.

"Thanks Mom." He said while chewing on his bacon.

Paul came down the stairs wearing a suit. He was exceptionally happy that school was starting, while on the other hand Percy longed for it to end so summer could begin. He wanted nothing to do except go to Camp Half-Blood. Percy finished eating and Paul asked,

"You ready for your first day of school as a Junior?" Paul asked while sipping his black coffee.

"Sure, I mean, I guess." Percy replied nonchalantly. Percy drank water and thought of Annabeth. He thought of how she told Luke she only saw him as a brother. Percy couldn't help but smile, but also feel bad about how she lost her best friend. He then frowned because he hadn't been getting any mail or anything from Annabeth. He wondered if she was enjoying her new school, since she had started 2 weeks earlier than he did. He had sent Annabeth emails but none were given in return. He couldn't help but feel worried.

Paul got up and kissed Sally. "Well, off to work. Have a good day Sal. Percy, let's go." Paul walked out the door and into the car, turning on the engine. Percy hugged his mom and followed after Paul. He got in the car and Paul tried to stir up some conversation.

"So, what classes do you have?"

Percy took out his pink schedule and read:

1st Period – Chorus  
2nd Period – Greek Mythology  
3rd Period – Art  
4th Period - Physics  
5th Period – Lunch  
6th Period – Study Hall  
7th Period – Math  
8th Period – English

Paul nodded and said, "At least you'll have last period with me, then we can leave quickly."

Percy nodded back and thought to himself, "That's true, better to not waste time." Percy thought about 2nd period class, he was excited. His dyslexia made him terrible at school, but Greek Mythology was easy for him, he could take a test with his eyes closed. They arrived at school and Percy got out of the car. Paul patted Percy's back, and said, "Good luck on your first day, I'll see you 8th period, alright?"

Percy replied, "Yeah Paul, thanks for the ride."

Paul waved and went in a separate direction while Percy went through the main doors. He had gotten stronger, muscular, and taller since the last time. As he passed through the hallways to go to his locker, he was the center of attention. He was the first gossip in school already. He however didn't care about the attention he got, he just wanted to get school over with already. Percy looked at his schedule and sighed, "Chorus, really? I can't even sing, well at least I don't think I can." The bell had rung and students were running all over the place trying to find their class. Percy never attended Goode High School, but didn't find it quite difficult to get around too. He found his Chorus class quite fine and sat down. He was the second one to be in there, another guy had already found the place alright. One by one people came in and made themselves comfortable. The teacher finally came in and introduced himself to the class. His name was Mr. Schraga, and he had been a teacher in Goode for about 5 years. He seemed to be in his late 20's. He had everyone in the class say something about themselves. The first boy who had come, his name was Matt. He revealed that he knew how to play the guitar and he was going to try out for the swim team. Percy went next.

"I'm, uh Percy and I'm also going to try out for the swim team. I'm good at swimming." Percy looked at Matt and he nodded to his direction. Everyone eventually revealed something about themselves. The door then opened with a creek. Percy didn't pay attention and turned his phone on. He checked if Annabeth had texted him or anything. There was none. The girl who had come late, her voice seemed familiar but he still didn't look up.

"What's your name?" Mr Schraga asked.

"Clarisse. Clarisse La Rue."

Percy looked up so fast that he stumbled a little while sitting on the steps of the choir. Clarisse had lost weight, but still looked very strong. She was wearing makeup and she actually passed off as a girl. Clarisse caught Percy's eye and she looked shocked. "Oh no," she muttered to herself.

**** New chapters every 2 days! Sometimes I'll do 2 chapters in a day. Check out my Harry Potter story! (Currently writing) Leave reviews and follow!**


	2. Around the World

**Previously on School begins-****  
****Percy looked up so fast that he stumbled a little while sitting on the steps of the choir. Clarisse had lost weight, but still looked very strong. She was wearing makeup and she actually passed off as a girl. Clarisse caught Percy's eye and she looked shocked. "Oh no," she muttered to herself.**

"Take a seat Miss La Rue." Mr Schraga gestured.

Clarisse took a seat on the opposite end of Percy. She tried her best to avoid Percy. "Why is he in this school? Ugh, If I had known he was here, I wouldn't of agreed to come. Now I have to put up with the _Son of Poseidon_ all over again." She thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. She looked up and saw Percy staring at her. She quickly avoided his contact and looked to Mr. Schraga who was about to speak to her.

"Well Clarisse, we've all introduced ourselves and added something a bit extra to who we are, why don't you give it a try?" he asked.

"Uh, alright." Clarisse said while sitting up straight. "I'm Clarisse; I'm at my best when I'm running on the track field. I especially love playing Capture the Flag." She said cracking her knuckles.

Percy looked at Clarisse and smiled when she talked about Capture the Flag. He too loved it. Of course, their teams always tied when facing each other, but competing with Clarisse had some sort of thrill to it. Maybe it was because he didn't know if he could beat her or not. He waited for Clarisse to look back at him. He wanted to talk to her. He knew she's had it rough since she lost Silena. He wanted her to be okay, even if her dislike for him was strongly shown.

The bell had rung. For the first day, classes were cut 30 minutes short for each class. Normally, it'd be 50 minutes. Clarisse took the opportunity and dashed for the door. Percy, however, was also gifted in speed and chased her down. Percy grabbed hold of her bag and said, "Clarisse! Stop, hang on." Clarisse huffed and stopped. She then faced Percy.

"What do you want, Jackson?" she growled.

"Well, for one I wanted to say hi. I'm also kind of wandering why you're at my school." he said.

"None of your business, Jackson." She snapped.

"C'mon, just tell me!" Percy pleaded.

Clarisse's mouth tightened. Percy knew she wasn't going to say anything until he kept begging. "Tell me." He repeated several times.

"If it'll get you off my back, then fine." She grumbled. "My mom sent me to live with my aunt for the year, so I transferred here for the time being, didn't know you'd be here."

Percy chuckled, "You're going to have to make friends with me sometime, considering you don't know anyone here."

"It's probably your first day too, nice try."

"Okay, okay, you caught me. Truce?" he stuck out his hand.

"Not if I can help it." She quickly paced away leaving Percy laughing at her stubbornness.

"Crap!" he said while looking at his watch, "I'll be late for second period." He ran to his next class, dodging all the human obstacles in his way. He turned the corner and walked into the room. He saw Clarisse sitting in the back of the class.

"You've got to be kidding me." Clarisse said as she saw Percy grinning from ear to ear. Percy walked to the back of the room and he sat in the empty seat near Clarisse. She was one seat up than from where he was. He was behind her and whispered,

"I wonder why you took this class?" he said smirking, speaking through his teeth.

"Are you stalking me now or what?" Clarisse said angrily.

The class began to fill up. "Not stalking, just maybe the same schedule." Percy replied. The teacher of the classroom entered with such anger. His movements seemed to be louder than Zeus's thunder raging throughout Mount Olympus.

The teacher stood in front of the class and said loudly, "In my class I only accept diligence, responsibility, and upholding your end of the deal. I am the teacher, and you are the student. I give you work, you finish it. Like I said, this is my class. My name is Mr. Gear; I will go only by Mr. Gear. You will not call me any other nicknames or that will result into not a detention but a 10 page essay about why you should call me Mr. Gear. You will work with such precise and brilliance that by the end of the year you will know everything about Greek Mythology. Any questions?"

A red haired boy with freckles who seemed to look as though he was 12 raised his hand slowly. Mr. Gear glanced at his hand, and ignored his unknown question. "No? Good, let's get started." The class giggled as they saw the embarrassed boy turn red. "Turn to page 53. On that page you will see a list of Greek Gods and Goddesses. To test your knowledge on how much you know, we will be playing Around the World. For those of you who are entirely ignorant with this game, I shall explain. I will ask a question to two students, and if one gets it incorrect, they sit in their seats. If one has answered it correctly, they will continue on and verse another student. The student who beats out all the rest of the class will earn my respect and a night free of homework. Yes, you do have homework. Let's begin." Mr. Gear pointed at two boys and told them to go in the front of the class. He then sat down on his seat and asked, "The Goddess of love is whom?" he asked. Clarisse rolled her eyes and thought, "Are you kidding me? I signed up for this class to hear crap like this?"

One of the boys failed to answer and the other boy shouted Zeus. Clarisse hit her forehead as she muttered, "Moron."

Mr. Gear clapped and said sarcastically, "We're off to a great start. Find your seats and stay there till the end of the year." He then proceeded to call up another girl and a boy. "Who is known as the wine God?" The brunette girl quickly piped, "Dionysus!" The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Correct, you may move on." Mr. Gear said nodding his head in approval. This went on for a couple of minutes, the class had 30 students and the brunette girl was dominating the whole class. Everyone just gave up as they saw her defeating her classmates one by one. Her next competitor was Clarisse. Percy's eyes widened as he was excited to see how the next round was going to turn out.

"Excellent job, Miss?-"

"Wilkes." She said politely.

"I'm sure you've become quite the competitor to your classmates. Next!"

Clarisse stood up and walked to the front of the room. As she walked to the front, guys from every corner in the room gawked and did a faint whistle. Clarisse didn't mind, she loved the attention. She faced the brunette girl and thought to herself, "Wait for it, Miss Goody two shoes, you'll be put in your place." She gave a fake smile and waited for Mr. Gear to ask the question.

Mr. Gear cleared his throat and asked, "The God of the travel-"

"Hermes." Clarisse said before Mr. Gear could finish the question.

"Uh, correct." He said in disbelief.

The brunette girl's jaw dropped. The class had suddenly become fascinated with what was occurring and clapped for Clarisse. (Mostly the guys)

"Take a seat Miss Wilkes. You did well."

The brunette girl stomped to her seat and sat.

"You now only have one more competition, Miss-"

"La Rue."

"Miss La Rue, yes. Young man, go up to the front." Mr. Gear said pointing at Percy. Percy mouthed, "Me?" He looked around and saw the look of defeat on everyone's face. "Oh man, this is going to be a bloodbath." He stood up, and walked to the front. He stood beside Clarisse and chuckled nervously.

"It's just you and me now, Jackson." Clarisse sneered.

"The Goddess of Rain-"

"Iris." They both said simultaneously.

"Correct.." Mr. Gear said taking off his classes to see his two students answering the question correctly.

"The God of Fear." He asked

"You know you're not going to beat me." Clarisse thought to herself, knowing Percy would know.

Percy whispered to Clarisse, "Whatever floats your boat."

"Phobos" they both answered again. Their heated battle continued on until the last minute of the bell.

"Last question, who is the God of sea?"

"Poseidon!" they shouted. They were out of breath, they answered questions right after the other, hoping to burn the other to the ground. The class watched, most being impressed and most wanting to see who would win the intense game. The bell had rung and everyone got up rapidly to leave. Some guys congratulated Clarisse and winked at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Not bad Clarisse, you kind of faltered when he asked about my dad though." Percy teased.

"Me? Falter? When they mentioned my dad, your heart probably stopped because of how much you're scared of him." Clarisse grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Percy chuckled while shaking his head.

"This is going to be a long year." He whispered to himself.

**** Thank you for all the reviews! Enjoy this chapter!  
**


	3. Classes

**Previously from Around the World – **

"**Me? Falter? When they mentioned my dad, your heart probably stopped because of how much you're scared of him." Clarisse grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Percy chuckled while shaking his head.**

"This is going to be a long year." He whispered to himself.

Percy pressed down on his messy, wild black hair and pushed it back roughly against his scalp. He thought to himself, "This 5 minute passing period isn't long enough." He wondered if Clarisse would ever warm up to him. Percy turned around after seeing Clarisse turn a corner. He walked back inside the classroom and found his bag. He threw his bag over his shoulder and as he was about to leave to his next class, Mr. Gear called out his name. "Mr. Jackson, is it? Come here for a second."

"Sir?" he asked respectfully with his eyebrow raised. He knew not to cause any trouble with this teacher; he seemed to have a temper like Zeus, a very short temper.

"You did well on the game. You knew all of it. Where did you gain all your knowledge on Greek Mythology?" he asked curiously.

"Well, my dad is _really _into all of it actually, he just made sure I got to experience it also." Percy replied nonchalantly.

"Your father must be proud. I'm delighted to be your teacher this year. It's nice to have a student whom I have common interests with. Most students only take this class because they think it'd be easy. Ha, not with me it's not. You better get going; you have about 3 minutes to get to your class." Mr. Gear said. The corners of his mouth twisted, and Percy swore he saw Mr. Gear smile. He walked out of the classroom and dug into his pocket to pull out his schedule.

"Third period is Art." He mumbled to himself. Percy paused and his thoughts immediately were overtaken by images of Annabeth. Whenever Percy thought of art, it would refer to architecture. His mind then turned to Annabeth. Annabeth was always so good at drawing and designing buildings from her imagination. He respected her for knowing what she wanted to do so early on, while Percy was still unable to be as passionate in something like she was. He sighed and continued to his third period class. He folded his schedule and crammed it into his pocket again, then began to walk to class. The walk wasn't far; he went upstairs and continued to walk straight until he reached his class. He entered the classroom and Percy's eyes widened. Around the classroom were numerous clay models of buildings, models of vehicles, colorful paintings, and sketches. He was amazed with the artistry in Goode. He knew Annabeth would've definitely taken this class, and put all of her focus on the clay models. The buildings that were carved and decorated were creative and eye catching. He then snapped out of his 1 minute of heaven and searched for an empty seat near a table. The only seat available was next to a bright red haired girl. She had a lot of freckles on her cheeks, and had hazel eyes. She seemed nervous. He could tell by her face, it showed obviously with her creased lines on her forehead. He sat down next to her and said,

"Hi, I'm Percy."

The red haired girl acknowledged him and said, "Hi, I'm Paige." She gave a small wave.

"You're a freshman?" Percy guessed. He decided to try and start a conversion. It was his best attempt to make friends.

Paige shook her head, "No, I'm a sophomore."

Percy nodded his head, "Oh a sophomore, nice."

"Do I look like a freshman?" Paige said looking disappointed.

"Oh no, I just thought because you seemed a bit anxious to be here."

"Well, it's kind of my first day at this school."

"Oh really? Me too."

"You're what, a freshman?" Paige joked.

Percy chuckled, "No, junior."

Their conversation was interrupted; the art teacher had entered the room. She sat on top of her desk and introduced herself. "Hey everyone, my name is Miss Beckhler, welcome to Art and Design. Here are the rules; you dedicate yourself to art in my class. It's not going to be very strict, I'm going to let you guys play around with what you most like and have you connect that to your art. So, today you guys are going to draw things you enjoy and like, since it's only the first day. There are pencils and papers up here on my deck, come and get it!" Miss Beckhler seemed enjoyable. She was much nicer than Mr. Gear, and was more laid back. She was tall, skinnier than a pencil, and had brown curly hair. Her glasses were pushed all the way up and she wore fake nails. However, Percy didn't care how she dressed or appeared to be, he knew she would be an eccentric teacher. Percy's thought was invaded with the noise of Paige's chair screeching against the hard floor. She started to get up but Percy stopped her.

"I'll get it." He offered. He got up and grabbed a couple of papers and sharp pencils. He went back to his seat and laid it on the table.

"Thanks." Paige said turning a little pink.

"No problem." Percy began drawing. He wasn't the greatest artist but he knew he wasn't entirely awful. He first drew a trident, and khaki Bermuda shorts to signify his dad. He wanted his father to know he was thinking of him. He then drew Annabeth's Yankee's cap. He smiled and admired his drawings. "Not too shabby, Jackson." He thought to himself smirking. He then continued on by drawing cake and candy canes. He didn't shade anything in, hoping later on he'd be able to color them in blue. He then finished his drawing off with a large drawing of Blackjack. Paige peered over to see what Percy had drawn, and Percy had caught her peeping. Paige immediately looked at her paper, hoping Percy didn't see.

Percy smiled and slid his paper to her. "I know, I'm not that good, that's why I took this class." He said while laughing.

Paige returned his smile and said, "No no, it looks nice. I like the Pegasus the best."

"So do I." He said grinning.

_BRRRRING_

The class had heard the bell and jumped out of their seats. They were stopped by Ms. Beckhler. "Everyone sit! Put your papers in a pile neatly on the table, and then you may go." Everyone followed Ms. Beckhler's orders and then everyone ran for the door as if they were lions hunting down a baby gazelle. Paige and Percy were left alone with the teacher. Percy and Paige put their papers on top of each other. Percy walked towards the door and held it open for Paige. Paige did her half smile again and thanked him.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Percy asked.

"Of course, it's only the second day of school." She said chuckling. She walked off. Percy thought to himself,

"Now I can tell Clarisse I made a friend." He said smirking. "I bet she's miserable, with that rock personality of hers."

***

Percy left his 4th period Physics class in a hurry. It was probably the worst class he had so far and the longest 30 minutes of his life. His class was filled with students who laughed over jokes about the periodic table. He felt as though he was about to suffocate. His teacher, Mr. Hoffman, had an aggravating monotone voice and for the whole class he read from a book of rules that were mandatory for the class. Percy wanted to pull out his hair, or even let Clarisse come and beat him to death. He never felt more out of place. He shuddered of the thought of going back, and then he remembered he _would _be going back, for the rest of the year! Percy decided to let his mind stray freely about the class and began to head down to the cafeteria. He walked down the stairway and watched as students' poured in. They bumped into him, almost causing him to drop his phone. "How much people can this school take?" he scoffed looking around the caf. Looking around the cafeteria he spotted Clarisse sitting down eating a salad. Percy wondered why she was. During camp, she usually stuffed her face with large portions of meat. Percy didn't think Clarisse needed to lose weight, she looked fine to him. Percy decided to bother her even more and sit next to her. He walked on over and just as he was about to sit down, Clarisse spoke.

"Don't even think about it Jackson." She said in an irritated tone.

"How'd you even know it was me? You didn't even turn around!" he asked in amazement.

"I can smell you from a mile away. You smell like rotten sardines." She said as she turned around still seated in her seat. "Don't you ever take showers?" she asked annoyed.

Percy decided to ignore her comment and asked, "How'd your day so far?"

"Perfect. I made a couple of friends."

"Now you don't have to lie, Clarisse." Percy taunted.

Clarisse smirked at Percy and crossed her arms. As soon as Percy ended his sentence, five burly guys sat down around Clarisse.

"Who's this?" the first guy asked.

"Is he bothering you, Clarisse?" the second guy asked with a growl.

"No, it's alright. You were saying, Jackson?" Clarisse sneered. "You can find your way to another table now." She turned around and asked her freakishly huge friends, "Who wants to arm wrestle me?"

Percy shook his head and laughed to himself. "Of course Clarisse had made friends," he thought, "Couldn't have been nice girls, it had to be some bodybuilder type guy." He went to find another seat. He sat down at a vacated table and took out his lunch. A minute later someone sat down beside him. Percy recognized him; he was in his chorus class.

"Hey, Percy right? You mind if I sit here?" he asked.

It was the boy who shared that he'd be trying out for the swim team, Matt.

"Yeah, sure, Matt right?" Percy responded.

"Yeah." He said taking a seat.

Percy watched as Matt placed his lunch tray down on the table. He didn't wait a second for him to stuff his face with the school lunch. He managed to muffle his question, "So, you staying after school?"

Percy made out what Matt was asking. "For?"

"You know, to try out for swimming." Matt replied as he swallowed.

"That's today? Why did they schedule that on the first day of school?" Percy questioned.

"I guess since no one has a large amount of homework." Matt shrugged.

Percy thanked Matt for telling him. "Yeah, I'll go."

"You any good?" Matt asked curiously.

"Uhh, a little." Percy lied.

"Well hopefully you make it mate."

"How about you, are you any good?"

"I think I'm alright, not the best but still good."

"I hope you do well too man." Percy said.

"Hey thanks man. You actually seem pretty normal for this school."

"Me, normal?" Percy thought to himself.

"You new here?" Matt asked as he took a big bite of his sandwich.

Percy unwrapped his lunch and took out his blue M&M cookies. His mom picked out all the blues from the colors and baked him the cookies for his first day. He took a bite then said, "Yeah, you?"

"No, been here since freshman year. You look like a junior, are you?

Percy nodded.

"Same here, well Percy, since it's your first day at Goode, I'll show you around. What's your next class?"

Percy had devoured his cookies in a split second and was still chewing. He grabbed his schedule from his pocket and handed it to Matt.

"Study hall." He read, "Hey that's in the same room as me. Alright, cool, maybe next class will be better."

They finished eating and 20 minutes had passed. Percy was fond of Matt. He wasn't arrogant, but real. He was glad to have made at least one guy friend at Goode. Matt was unlike anyone from Camp Half-Blood. He wasn't big or bulky, he was actually thin. He had no bone, and was 2 inches shorter than Percy. His hair was also bright red. "What's with the hair in this school?" Percy thought to himself. He was a bit upset that the swimming try outs would be right after school. He texted his mom, letting her know, and then Paul so he wouldn't wait around for him right after school ended. He was tired and it was only 5th period. He had 3 more classes and he wasn't prepared for any of it. Although, he knew once he touched the water in the pool, his tiredness would leave him and he'd be swimming faster than a dolphin. He however, had to control his speed and decided to decrease his skill so no one would be suspicious. He checked his phone to see if Annabeth had contacted him. Nothing appeared. He sighed, "Where are you Annabeth?" The bell had rung and Matt got up.

"Let's go Perce." He said throwing his backpack on.

"Yeah, alright."

Percy sighed as he wanted the day to be over quickly. He then focused his mind on Annabeth, knowing it'll keep him occupied until tryouts.

** Thank you for your reviews. It means a lot to me, hope you enjoy this chapter. I promise, once the school day is over, then it'll become even more interesting. Stay tuned! 


	4. Off to Tryouts

**Previously from Classes-  
****Percy sighed as he wanted the day to be over quickly. He then focused his mind on Annabeth, knowing it'll keep him occupied until tryouts. **

The period did not fly by as fast as he thought it would.

Study hall was a fun class for the first half, (which was only for 15 minutes today). The downside was that only the first half of 6th period was when anyone was allowed to talk. The second half was quietness dedicated to your own personal time, or for anyone who even had homework. Phones were allowed, as long as people had their headphones in and made sure their phone didn't make too much noise. Percy thought the class would be somewhat enjoyable since Matt was there, but the teacher contradicted his thought when she placed them both in opposite directions of each other. Their study hall was in the auditorium and Percy was basically at the bottom floor while Matt sat at the top. Although he hated not being next to his new friend, he was still grateful for their access to phones. He wasn't in the mood to do his homework, so he pounced at every opportunity that was able to check if Annabeth had contacted him. Percy thought to himself, "You're being too clingy, just wait." Percy turned his phone off. "Annabeth is probably having the time of her life, and was too busy to call, text, or email back. Yeah," Percy thought, "That's probably it." The bell had rung.

_BRRRRINGGG _

Percy walked up the stairs to meet Matt by his arranged seat. "Well that wasn't worth 15 minutes of my time." Matt grumbled.

Percy patted his back. "I have to go; math is all the way on the other side of the building. I'll see you at tryouts." Percy made a run for it. Matt cupped his hands and brought them to his mouth,

"Alright, see you!" he shouted.

As Percy ran, he thought about Camp Half-Blood. Even if he wasn't physically there, he would try to imagine it in place of his school. Like before, he had the ability to dodge everyone in his way. He pictured them as Luke's henchman trying to kill him, or Ares coming after him. He was quick and precise and made it to his next class in less than the minutes provided. Without breaking even a sweat, he stood in front of the door and looked to the side. He read the room number.

**305**

"Yup, I'm here." Percy sighed.

***

Percy managed to not completely lose his mind at math class. Percy was in Algebra 2 and the numbers were all jumbled up in his head. He thought about what had happened, his math teacher didn't hesitate to work the class on their first day. She taught a lesson in 30 minutes, and even for the kids who understood better than Percy could have were confused. It was extremely problematic for Percy and he was unable to comprehend anything the teacher was saying. Percy huffed at his remembrance of what his teacher "taught" them today. He couldn't remember anything. He walked throughout the halls angry with himself. He hated his dyslexia. It held him back from actually being successful in school. He knew it was probably stupid to want to achieve, since he was already doing well at Camp Half-Blood. Being a great demigod at camp was all Percy wanted,(and to impress his dad and Annabeth) but he sometime wished school was also something he could excel at. He thought about how Matt called him normal. Percy chuckled, "Normal? Anything but." He wandered around a little bit longer like a lost puppy until he found his last class. Percy walked up to the door to open it, but stopped. He looked through the window and saw Paul organizing his papers. He clasped the handle and opened the door, and Percy stood at the doorway and said, "Hey Paul."

He looked up, "Hey Percy, how was your day?" he asked.

"It's alright, the classes weren't that difficult to find. Kind of glad it's over. Oh, before I forget, I actually don't need a ride home after school. I'm staying for swimming try outs. I'll ride the bus home."

"Okay, that's fine. Did you text your mom that?"

"Yeah, but could you tell her just in case?"

"Of course. Try not to get home too late though; we're having your mom's famous meatloaf."

Percy caught Paul exhaling and widening his eyes at the thought of his mom's cooking. Students began pouring into the classroom. Percy quieted down and took a seat in the back. For the whole period Paul talked about what books the class would soon have to require during the school year. He then talked about what the class had to expect from his teaching styles. He tried to make it friendly and Percy could tell the class enjoyed it only because the clock was ticking fast. He knew no one was interested in what he had to say. 8th period zoomed by faster than math did, and the students kept their butts off the seat while watching the clock. The bell had rung. Percy waited for everyone to leave, and stalled himself by looking for his phone. He needed to talk to Paul but he didn't want everyone to know that Paul was his mom's boyfriend. Everyone left and Percy got up and walked over to Paul's desk. "I'll probably be home a bit late, but I'll text mom or you, whoever answers first. Drink lots of water for mom's meatloaf." He suggested.

Paul sighed and nodded "Alright, have fun Percy."

Percy left and looked for the pool. He wasn't exactly lost, but he could do with a bit of help. He eventually found it all the way on the East side of the building. He saw Matt waiting just outside the pool and he shouted, Hey!"

"Hey Percy!" Matt waved. "C'mon, we have to change. Oh! You don't have your swim suit, do you?"

"Crap!" Percy said, he hit himself on his forehead. "I didn't even know the try outs were today, let alone know that I had to bring my swimsuit!"

"It's alright; I always have an extra pair." He said

Percy sighed happily, "Thank god."

Matt opened the door and walked into the pool area. Percy gasped at the sight of it. It was amazing to his eyes; the water was bluer than can be, the school colors, yellow and orange were hung on a line a couple feet from the pool. The diving boards were all in different lengths of height and Percy was dying to jump off of them, especially the highest one. He couldn't wait to dive into the deep end and feel the water strengthen him. It was kind of like when Annabeth looked at an art room, I mean if she ever did, she would be astonished at it. The pool was heaven to Percy.

"It's great isn't it?" Matt cut in.

"It's perfect." Percy mumbled.

"They redid this whole place last summer. I was so excited, I mean, our last pool was dull and practically falling apart. No one really wanted to come into our filthy pool, but when you come in here and look at this place," Matt chuckled, "Well, you just have the urge to swim."

Percy nodded and looked around once more. Matt interrupted his gaze and said, "I hate to break up your little love affair, but we have to change."

Percy laughed and pat his shoulder, "Alright, jeez."

They ran into the locker room and spotted roughly about 20 other guys. They all stared at Percy and one guy asked Matt, "Who's the new kid?"

"This is Percy, he's new to Goode."

The boy stepped forward and shook Percy's hand. "Hey, I'm Chris. I'm the assistant captain of this team, well used to be last year. I hope to be again for this year."

"Nice to meet you."

Percy did a half smile and Matt handed him a swim suit. Percy quickly got changed near the bathrooms and everyone was heading out back to the pool. Percy followed and heard three blows of a whistle.

"Hello everyone, and thank you for coming out to tryouts today. I'm Coach Cunningham and I'll be testing all of you on three skills today. He lifted one finger each time he said a word, "Endurance, Speed, and the most important one, dedication. I won't go into depth with the last one though, that'll be mostly when you make the team." he said. He waved his three fingers then said, "And if you do "make" the team and you do not dedicate your body to the water, your talents to this team, then consider yourself cut and the next person who steps up will take your place." Percy looked around to see all the nervous faces. Matt whispered to him,

"He's new here also; he seems stricter than our last coach."

Percy caught Mr. Cunningham's stare, and quickly looked away. "Alright, pair up in a group of four. Now listen up, today is the only day you can try out. I'm only letting 15 people be on the team, so that means 1 in each group will be cut. So 5 in total, if you gentleman can't count. Alright, go find your teams." He demanded.

Matt called two other people to be with him and Percy. Matt said, "Jude, Brody, over here!"

The two boys who were apparently Jude and Brody turned around and walked on over. "Percy, this is Jude and Brody, its fine if they're on our team right?" he asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Percy replied.

Jude and Brody both shook Percy's hand and finally the rest of the guys in the gym paired up. Percy's eyes wandered to everyone's face and he saw a guy who looked dead serious. He was a bit muscular, a little less than Percy. He seemed to be an inch taller and have dirty blonde hair. It wasn't all over the place like Percy's. His was nicely cut and it had a little spike to it. He didn't use any gel though. His arms were crossed and his eyebrows scrunched severely like they were rubbing against each other. Percy asked Jude, "Hey, who's that dude?" he pointed.

"That's Hunter. He was our captain last year. He's probably the best on our team. He's not the friendliest guy, scratch that, he's not even friendly. But damn is he a good swimmer." Jude answered. Jude's voice was obviously a British accent. It shocked Percy but he found it pretty cool.

Brody scoffed, "He's awful."

Matt shook his head, "If only he wasn't good at swimming."

"Alright!" the coach shouted. "I'm going to call your teams by numbers, remember them." He pointed at a team and began telling them their number. He eventually pointed to Percy's team and said, "5."

"Well, I guess we're not swimming for a bit. Last ones, huh?" Matt said sitting down and putting his feet in the water.

Percy, Jude and Brody sat next to him and did the same thing. "So Percy, you only swim? You do any other sports?" Brody asked.

"I sometimes play baseball, or fencing, but I prefer swimming." He said kicking the water with his feet.

"Fencing?" Matt asked.

"Are you daft Matt? You know with those fake swords, you have to hit someone's chest with it I suppose." Jude answered.

Percy laughed and said, "Yeah pretty much." His mind drifted to Annabeth. He remembered his first confrontation with her, how she almost killed him during Capture the Flag. She was so beautiful; he knew he felt a little spark when she approached him. He snapped out of it when Jude pushed Matt into the water, creating a large splash. Percy laughed again and knew he finally made some decent friends. The 4 of them waited and wanting to pass the time, they got to know each other, many questions were exchanged, conversations about the brutal captain, and about techniques in the pool. Percy sighed silently to himself, "I just want to get in the water." he thought. He patiently sat there waiting for his turn.


	5. The Walk

**Previously on Off to Tryouts - Percy sighed silently to himself, "I just want to get in the water." he thought. He patiently sat there waiting for his turn.**

One by one, everyone eventually finished showing off their skills to Coach Cunningham. Now, it was Percy's turn. Jude, Matt, and Brody had finished before him. Percy was impressed with all three of them. He was mainly impressed with Hunter. He had no doubt why he was chosen as the team captain last year, but this year it was going to change.

"Alright Jackson, are you ready?" Coach Cunningham asked.

"Ready when you are." Percy replied as he waited to dive.

Coach Cunningham blew his whistle and Percy dove in. Percy swam with such speed, less than a swordfish, but faster than Hunter. While swimming, Percy felt all his strength returning to him, all the strength that poured and seeped out during school hours. He went all the way down to the end, and came right back up once he returned to his starting position, without even gasping for air. Percy searched for his friends, and he saw Matt with his jaw hanging out, Jude with his eyes widened, and Brody beaming.

"Alright Percy!" Brody clapped loudly.

Coach Cunningham's mouth was also hanging, with his whistle on his bottom lip. He snapped out of his gaze at Percy and said, "You are a swimmer, son. That was great."

"Thanks Coach." Percy smiled.

Hunter's eyes glared at Percy, and Percy caught it. He knew right at that moment that he had made an enemy, a rival. Percy didn't care, not even the slightest bit, he was in the water and that was all that mattered to him. Percy eventually surpassed all the limits required to be in the swim team. His endurance in the water was spot on, his speed was perfect, and he knew he had the determination and passion for it, so dedication was out of the wonderings for the coach. He got out of the water and his friends patted him on the back. They went and got changed in the locker room, and Matt grabbed Percy's shoulder and said,

"Dude, you didn't tell me you were _that _good!" Matt exclaimed.

Percy chuckled. "Did you see the look on Hunter's face? It looked like he was threatened." Brody informed.

"That's because that's the first time anyone has ever been better than him." Jude stated.

"Hey c'mon guys, it's not all about me. You guys were great too. I was really impressed." Percy complimented as they walked out of the locker room.

"Thanks Perce." Matt said cheerfully.

"Hey, but I gotta go, can't be late for dinner. Where are the busses?" Percy asked

"The other side of the school, busses will come in like 15 minutes so you don't have to rush getting there." Matt answered.

"Better to be safe than sorry, right? Alright, see you guys tomorrow!"

"Bye." They all said as they walked off. Normally people would have been exhausted after having tryouts right after school. No, they would have been exhausted after the _first_ day of school. It would have taken all of their strength and time, but not Percy. He wasn't just a person, he was a demigod. He felt better than ever, the books in his backpack weren't at all heavy for him anymore. He left the pool area and walked down the halls. It was deserted but he heard a locker slam that rang in his ears. He turned to his left and saw Clarisse getting her jacket on. Percy smirked and thought to himself, "No wonder it was so loud." He walked towards her, "So what is the almighty daughter of Ares doing here after school?" he teased.

Clarisse's face turned, and became the color red. "Shut it, Jackson." She growled.

"Cranky." He chuckled.

"I was just checking out the school, looking around, that's all."

"Does it fit to your expectations?"

"It could be better." She mumbled.

She threw her backpack over her shoulder and started to walk away. Percy grinned and followed, "Want me to walk you home?" he asked.

"I don't want anything from you." She replied harshly, "Leave me alone."

Percy dashed right in front and stopped her. "Why do you still hate me? I thought we became friends, since you know, we kind of defeated Kronos." He said sarcastically.

"I don't hate you." She clarified.

"Oh really?" he said raising his eyebrow.

"I dislike you."

"But why? We were fine!" he asked confusedly.

"Things change, don't they?"

"Not all of a sudden they don't."

"It's been months. Yes, they can change."

She went around him and headed for the door. Percy sighed and decided to walk with her; the only way for him to talk to her was for him to keep pestering her. He lived miles away, but he decided to ditch the bus and take a nice healthy walk. "I'm coming with you." He shouted.

"No you're not." Clarisse snarled.

"Well you know my house is close to yours, so either way I have to go with you in that direction." Percy lied.

Clarisse glared at Percy and growled, "How do you know where I live?"

"Just a hunch." He said quickly.

"Don't get too close to me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Clarisse led her way out the doors of the school and Percy stayed a foot behind her. He watched as Clarisse angrily took her steps. Maybe it was just his mind fooling with him, but Percy could've sworn he saw cracks in the sidewalk after every step. He thought to himself, "Should I say something? No, I probably shouldn't." Percy continued to watch her movements. He could tell something was bothering her. "My thoughts never stopped me before." He thought one more time until finally catching up to her. "Clarisse, you good?"

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

"What's it to you?" she scowled.

"Well for one, Miss Daughter of War is creating cracks on the sidewalk with every step she takes, and two, your face says it all." He pointed.

"It's just some things at home."

"Your home here or-"

"Home home." She emphasized.

"Oh, is everything er- alright with your mom?"

"That really isn't any of your business is it?" she huffed.

Percy stopped her, "Hey, c'mon, I'm just trying to help."

"You want to help?" Clarisse asked.

"Yeah!" Percy replied.

"Then turn around, and go home." Clarisse then took a head start running. She turned a corner, leaving Percy there, speechless.  
"Why is she so goddamn stubborn." He muttered to himself. He then did what he was told to do, and turned around. He put his hands in his hair and sighed, excited for his long walk home . . .

***

Clarisse turned around to see if Percy was following her. "Good, I didn't need the annoyance from the son of Poseidon." She grumbled. She looked under to see if she really did make any cracks on the sidewalk. He was right. She said to herself, "Calm down Clarisse, you're almost home." She walked carefully to her house and made it. She went inside to hear her aunt bellowing

"Is that you Clarisse?"

"Yeah Aunt May, I'm here."

"Oh good, how was your day?" she shouted from the kitchen.

"It was fine."

"That's good dear, we'll talk more later, dinner starts in an hour."

"Alright." She walked up the stairs and into her room. She sighed as she threw her backpack against the wall. She fell backwards unto her bed and exhaled deeply. "When is this nightmare going to end?" she thought. "Me, and Percy in the same school, for the whole year?" she shook her head and shuddered. She didn't want to be near a six feet troll, who had..., huge sea green eyes, and wild black hair. . She shook her head again, "Snap out of it Clarisse." She rolled across her bed and grabbed a picture of Chris. It was the last day of Camp, and Chris had pulled her close, kissing her cheek. Her friends managed to get a shot of it, and Chris had it framed for her. She smiled, she missed him so much, but she couldn't have any contact with him. Her mom had taken all of her drachmas, all of her necessities from Camp. Her blood boiled when she thought of her mother, it was her fault she was sent to be here. Her own mother... had chosen a boy over her. Her heart sank and tears filled up her eyes. "Stop it Clarisse, this isn't you." She quickly wiped her tears before her Aunt May knocked on the door and came in.

"Clarisse dear, time for dinner."

"Alright Aunt May, I'll be there in just a sec." she closed the door behind her. Clarisse got up and walked towards the door. She stopped and grabbed the picture of her and Chris again; she gave a quick smile and kissed it one last time. 


	6. Drachma

**Previously on The Walk –  
"Alright Aunt May, I'll be there in just a sec." She closed the door behind her. Clarisse got up and walked towards the door. She stopped and grabbed the picture of her and Chris again; she gave a quick smile and kissed it one last time.**

Clarisse woke up to the sound of her Aunt May hollering at the top of her lungs. "Clarisse hon," she shouted, "Get up!" Clarisse rubbed her face and let out a big yawn. She looked through the creak of her fingers and saw the time.  
**  
**_**7:00**_

She had woken up an hour before school had to start. She sighed and got up. "Might as well get up now," she thought to herself. It took her about 15 minutes to pick out her clothes, wash up, and then put her makeup on. She never really put make up on until she started to date Chris. She knew that it wasn't needed, that Chris liked her for herself, but she wanted to change her appearance in a way that intimidated others. She looked up to the ceiling, imagining Aphrodite happily cheering for her. She shuddered and began fixing her hair. She decided to keep her hair tied up in a braid, in a ponytail kind of way. She smiled at the thought of Chris complimenting her hair. She grabbed her backpack and made her way downstairs. She opened the front door and when she was about to see herself out, her Aunt shouted,

"I know you are not leaving without eating any breakfast!"

"I'm not hungry Aunt May." Clarisse replied.

"Get in here!"

Clarisse grumpily walked her way on over to the kitchen. She plopped down in her seat and began devouring her eggs rapidly. Her aunt gave a horrified look as her jaw dropped all the way to the floor. She watched her niece eat like a warthog.

"Slow down, you're going to choke!" She exclaimed.

Clarisse looked up glaring at her aunt. "I'm going to be late." She fibbed.

"You have like 15 minutes, and it takes 5 minutes to go to school. Don't patronize me, child. Besides, breakfast is _the_ most important meal of the day you know?" she sassed.

Clarisse finished her breakfast and raced to the door. "Bye Aunt May!" she left quickly. Her Aunt (being a little late) replied,

"Okay, be careful!"

Clarisse ran fast and turned the corner quickly so she was out of the house's sight. She knew her Aunt sometimes peered through the window to watch her off. It made her extremely uncomfortable. She loved her Aunt, but she needed her personal space. She scoffed at her own thought, she had enough personal space from her dad and her mom, maybe she was the reason it all went to hell. She shook her head and decided to keep her mind off of it. She walked by the sidewalk where she had cracked with her dinosaur feet. "At least Percy was the one to tell me, not some mortal." She mumbled to herself. She made it to school safety, without the company of any monsters setting out to kill her. She walked inside and found her locker. She twisted the combination on her lock and opened it to see a picture of Chris. She smiled, and her happiness shredded when she overheard someone clearing their throat. They were leaning against a locker behind her. She turned around to see Percy smiling.

"Oh my god you punk, why are you always around me? Make friends, I'm not your new goat boy." She snapped.

"His name is Grover, and hey, I have friends." Percy said offended.

"Then for once, please, go away." She turned around and put her face towards her locker. She wanted to cram Percy into her locker for the rest of the day.

"That's a nice picture of Chris." Percy pointed, as Clarisse's head zipped around.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered.

"Have you seen him since-"

"No, I haven't."

Clarisse turned around again and quickly started blinking fast; she didn't want Percy to see her in any tears. Her eyes felt dry, she felt reassured by it.

"I haven't seen Annabeth either." Percy said, his tone of voice changing. He walked over and sat down beside Clarisse's locker. She looked down and saw how saddened he was by it.

"That's surprising." Clarisse said.

"What is?" Percy said looking up.

"You and Annabeth not speaking, you two are inseparable."

"She hasn't been answering of my emails, texts, or anything. I feel like if I used a drachma, then I'd be pushing it."

Their whole conversation left Clarisse's mind and her ears perked up when she heard the word, "drachma." She desperately needed one to contact Chris; however, she didn't really have the best social skills to retrieve it from Percy. She rolled her eyes and thought, "Screw it, I'll just ask for it."

"Um, Jackson." Clarisse said clearing her throat.

"What?" He said picking at his ripped jeans.

"Do you, uh, mind lending me a drachma?"

"Why? Where are yours?" He said looking up, with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Well obviously I don't have any?" she snarled. "All my things got taken by my mom, so I need one to talk to Chris."

Percy stood up smirking. He put his hands in his pocket and took out a drachma. It shined in the light, reflecting into Clarisse's eyes. It was the most beautiful thing she has seen since Chris. "Why do you have it in your pocket?"

"Just in case for emergencies." He replied.

"Well, thanks." Clarisse reached for it when Percy pulled back.

"No way!" He laughed, "You really think I'm just going to hand it over?"

"Watch it." She growled.

"You haven't been nice to me, so for the rest of the day, you're going to be nice-"

"Fine!" she said reaching for it again. Percy took a step back and held the drachma out of her reach.

"And," he continued, "We're going to be friends, _real _friends. Clarisse, we're starting over, complete fresh start."

Clarisse scoffed, "No way."

"I guess you're not getting this then." He waved it over her face, and turned around, walking away.

Clarisse watched the shininess dim down as he walked away. She clenched her teeth and her knuckles cracked as they resumed their natural position into fists.

"FINE!" she shouted across the hallway.

Percy turned around and said, "Mhm? What'd you say?"

"I SAID FINE!" She yelled.

"Fine what?" Percy teased. He knew he was being a complete jack ass, but it was fun to mess with her. He didn't have this much power since- well since forever!

"Fine we'll be friends, and I'll be nice for the day."

"Every day." Percy corrected.

"Every day." She repeated.

"You'll get this at the end of the day then, come on, we're going to be late for Chorus." Percy ran out of Clarisse's sight when she was about to protest. She punched her locker which caused a dent.

"I'm going to kill him." She sighed.

**Sorry for the delay! Enjoy! 


	7. Slow

**Previously on Drachma – "I'm going to kill him." She sighed.**

Percy laughed as he ran away from Clarisse. He quickly entered the Choir room and sat on the top risers. The class had filled up, and Clarisse was the last one to enter. She growled as she shot a glare to Percy. She mouthed, "Watch your back." Percy smiled and flashed a toothy grinned. Mr. Schraga entered the room and announced,

"Good morning everyone, I know it's only the second day, but we are heading straightforward into singing." A couple of groans were scattered around the room. Clarisse was one of them. Percy was fine with it, he wasn't the best singer, but he sure thought he was alright. For the rest of the period they were given warm ups to practice, and experiencing their voices. They all had to go up one by one and sing a sentence for Mr. Schraga and he placed them into certain voice groups. Percy didn't have to really go up; he knew he was a baritone. He still did, and showed his voice in front of the class. Many girls giggled and pointed. They whispered to each other which caused Clarisse to roll her eyes. He went back to his seat after Mr. Schraga declared him a baritone, and he winked at Clarisse. She scowled, and then got up. He saw Clarisse attempt to sing, and the moment she opened her mouth, Percy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. It was exquisite; he thought he was listening to a harp played in Olympus. He would've thought she'd be in the altos, but her voice clearly placed her in a soprano. Everyone got their turn to showcase their instrument. The class had ended and as they walked out, Percy placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Clarisse, you're actually good." He said in shock.

Clarisse scoffed, "Actually? I'm pretty damn good."

Percy placed his hands up and chuckled, "Yeah, you're really good." He walked beside her, grinning about their agreement. Clarisse's face clearly showed her dislike, but held in her sarcastic remarks, hoping to win her hands on the drachma. He teased and said, "Want me to carry your books?" She threw her books at him and ran to Mythology class. Percy smirked and said,

"Same ol' Clarisse." He chased after her to the class.

***

Clarisse sat in class listening to her teacher, Mr. Gear, explain the life of Kronos. All she could think about was Silena. She rolled up her hands into fists and gently hit the table. Percy caught her, for she sat behind him. He had no emotion to him; his face was like a blank. He knew his eyes looked saddened. All he could think about was Annabeth, how he had almost lost her. Now, since everything was over, she wouldn't even contact him. His eyebrows scrunched together and the lectures from his teacher became a blur. The class passed by quickly and as soon as the bell had rung, she dashed into the hallways and disappeared into the crowd. Percy zipped to the doorway and looked around. He sighed, he had lost her. He glumly walked to his art class, and his friend Paige noticed he was in a bad mood.

"Hey Percy." She said while blushing.

"Oh," he said as he sat down. "Hey Paige." They were assigned to draw again, it seems as though his teacher really wanted to get into their weaknesses and strengths. He disliked being in the class, especially today. All he could think about was Annabeth; He frustratingly broke his pencil, and then threw it. He bit his lip in anger, and thought to himself, "Why isn't she freaking calling?" He turned around hearing Paige clearing her throat with such notability.

"Percy? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He mumbled. Her face switched to concern, she then scooted her paper over to Percy. He looked down to see a drawing of a Pegasus and him sitting on it with a swim team outfit. It vaguely resembled Blackjack. He smiled and patted her hand. Her face lit up. He whispered, "Thanks." She nodded. The rest of the day flew by extremely slowly, he basically snoozed through the next class, having no interest whatsoever, and headed down to lunch. His eyes examined the cafeteria and focused on one person, Clarisse. He sat by Clarisse, which annoyed her.

"So, how was your day?" Percy said emotionless.

"Uh, good, you?" She replied, noticing his cheeriness to be gone.

"Fine." He watched as she took a bite of her sandwich. She noticed he had no food, so she grabbed a bag of her chips and threw it to him.

"No, I'm good." He said.

"Take a chip, and thank me Jackson, it's as good as you're going to get." He smirked and took one of her lays. He chewed slowly, and then looked around. He didn't see any of the jocks sitting by her today.

"Where's your friends?" he asked curiously.

"They're off in the gym, they have a game coming up and they want to be prepared. Speaking of being prepared, shouldn't you be off doing some laps or something for your big swim meet?"

Percy smiled, "That's not for another 5 days, besides, we just started. I'm not even sure I made it."

She scoffed, "Shut up Jackson, you know you made it, Son of Poseidon."

He chuckled and took another chip. He slowly began to have an idea. He looked at Clarisse until she noticed and asked, "Uh what?"

"Follow me" he said while getting up from his seat. He started to walk across the caf, and into the hallways.

"What?" she bellowed after him. "Oh my god, I'm eating!" He turned back, smirked, and gestured for her to come. She growled, grabbed her stuff and followed. "Jackson!" she shouted down the hallway. He ran and turned a corner. She scowled, and chased him. She stopped as she saw him just outside of the doors to the pool. "What gives?" she said.

He turned and smiled. "It's closed."

"So?"

He smirked and made a key from the water from the water fountain. Clarisse watched as he unlocked the pool. "C'mon." he said, as he walked in.

"Are you trying to get us kicked out?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." He whispered.

****Sorry for the late chapter! This isn't so interesting, but I promise it'll get better! Enjoy!**

****


	8. Trouble

**Previously on Slow - "Wouldn't be the first time." He whispered.**

Percy entered the pool, turning on the lights behind him. Clarisse huffed and said, "I'm all for breaking and entering during camp, but when it's in the real world, with all these mortals, and their property, I'm a bit iffy-"

"Shut up and hurry." He pushed her a bit forward so he could close the blinds for the door's window. He didn't want anyone seeing them as they walked past. However, he knew no one would come in, everyone was already so tired from their tryouts, and the pool was the last thing on their mind. He still took precautions. He then walked to the pool with Clarisse scoffing.

"If you ever tell me to shut up and then push me ever again, I will pummel you, Jackson." She growled.

"Got it." He said smiling. He then bent down and placed his hand into the pool. The scent wasn't natural, but it still reminded him of his dad. Clarisse watched and said,

"What's so exciting about being in the pool?" she muttered.

He looked over and said, "It's like being in a competition with you, the thrill of it, it makes you go insane, in the best way, doesn't it?"

Clarisse nodded, "Yeah, it does." She walked over and climbed on the diving board, which was extremely high from the deep end of the pool. She walked slowly across and looked down into the clear bright blue water. She could see her reflection, and she quickly pushed behind a strand of hair that was sticking out. Percy climbed up also and said, "Do you see that?"

"See what?" she asked.

"Down there, something shiny."

"No, I don't, where is it-"

Percy pushed Clarisse into the water and she fell in with the worst position he could ever think of. He saw Clarisse go under and waited for her to yell at him as she popped up. She found the surface of the water, and she gasped for air. She screamed. Percy's eyebrows scrunched together, "Is she joking?" he thought to himself, "Is this just payback for me pushing her into the pool?" He continued to watch as she screamed, his eyes then widened, "Crap!" he dove in after her and grabbed her by her arm. He held her as he swam to the side, "Calm down!" he shouted as he helped. She grabbed onto the cement side and she pulled herself up. She coughed up water, and Percy sat beside her patting her back. She smacked his hand out of the way and she, this time, kicked him back in the pool.

"Hey! What gives?" he shouted.

_"WHAT GIVES?"_ she screamed, you pushed me off a diving board that was probably feet away from the ground, into a deep end!" she snarled.

"You know how to swim though!" he said startled.

"YEAH IN LIKE SMALL AREAS, WITH A CERTAIN DEPTH TO IT, NOT IN A FRIGGIN DEEP ENDS. JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME." She screamed. She stomped her way out of the pool, and Percy floated in the water. He was left speechless, and he smacked himself on the forehead,

"Smart Percy, just smart." He muttered. He went on his back and floated. "I'm an idiot." He floated for about 30 seconds before he heard a door open again. He swam straightly and said, "Clarisse!" but he saw a janitor grabbing Clarisse by the arm.

"Let go of me old man!" she shouted.

"Oh crap." Percy said.

"Get out, now!" the janitor said fiercely. Percy got out of the water and the janitor grabbed his arm. He dragged the two of them to the principal's office. While they were being dragged, Clarisse thought in her head,

"I hate you so much right now."

Percy looked at her and mouthed, "I'm sorry." She looked away, but Percy saw the fire in her eyes. He sighed and the janitor finally had them enter the principal's office. He sat them down and the principal asked,

"What happened?"

"They broke into the pool." The janitor said proudly.

"That's it? Damn it Jim! I have more important matters to get to, get out!" The janitor looked shocked as he quickly left. The principal sighed and faced them. Clarisse looked shocked while Percy looked a bit disturbed. He sat down and with his annoyed face he asked,

"Why did you break in the pool? Jackson and La Rue is it?"

"Yes" they said at the same time. Clarisse glared at him.

"Whose idea was it?" This time Clarisse stayed silent, she didn't feel like ratting out Percy, but he stepped in.

"Mine, I wanted to show her around, and I kind of forced her to come along. It's my fault."

Clarisse looked at him shocked, while Percy looked directly at the Principal.

"Very well, seeming as though this isn't the most serious thing ever, I'm going to give you both two detentions, does that sound fair?" He said.

"Oh, yeah, thank you." Percy replied.

"Alright, you can go now." They both got up to leave, and Percy held the door open for her. She rolled her eyes. As the door closed behind them, Clarisse grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him against the wall.

"What gives? Why'd you take blame?"

"Does it matter? We both got equal punishment anyways, didn't do me any good. Besides, it was my idea, wasn't it?" She let go of him, and took a step back.

"Yeah it was." She growled. She walked away and Percy grabbed her shoulder.

"I didn't know really."

"Doesn't matter, just give me your drachma in return, and I'll let it go."

Percy sighed and said, "I don't want you to just let it go just for the drachma, I want you to forgive me. I really am sorry."

"Just hand me the drachma, punk."

Percy dug into his pocket and grabbed the golden drachma. It shined in Clarisse's eyes; she reached for it quickly before Percy could pull it away. She smiled, and said, "Thanks Jackson." Percy sighed and said,

"You're welcome." Clarisse had quickly left, and Percy didn't feel like continuing the rest of the day. He watched as she had finally turned the corner, then he too left. He went through the front doors of the building, before anyone could see him and walked home. On his way, all he could think about was Clarisse almost drowning, while he, the Son of Poseidon was above her, just watching. He felt his heart breaking; he walked home, hearing the thunders raging across the sky. It began to rain.

****I'm made up Clarisse's fear of deep water, so no hate on it please! Thank you!**


	9. Iris Message

**Previously on Trouble -  
"You're welcome." Clarisse had quickly left, and Percy didn't feel like continuing the rest of the day. He watched as she had finally turned the corner, then he too left. He went through the front doors of the building, before anyone could see him and walked home. On his way, all he could think about was Clarisse almost drowning, while he, the Son of Poseidon was above her, just watching. He felt his heart breaking; he walked home, hearing the thunders raging across the sky. It began to rain.**

Clarisse rushed inside and ran up the stairs to her room. She was dying to contact Chris. Her bones ached with desire as she was moments away from seeing Chris's gorgeous face. Just a foot away from her room, she was stopped by her Aunt's empowering, booming voice.

"Is that you Clarisse?" her Aunt shouted.

"Yeah Aunt May, I have a lot of homework today, so please don't bother me!" she hollered back. She rolled her eyes and muttered "She could be the official announcer for Olympus, she wouldn't even need a horn to exploit her voice."

"I'll be going to the store and running some errands, you need anything?"

She closed the door behind her and locked it fast. "No! Bye!" She rushed inside her bedroom and waited for her Aunt to drive out of the driveway. She smiled as she heard the car engine turn on, and by moments growing faint. She knew the car was leaving farther and farther. She paced around and said to herself, "What am I going to say? What is he going to say?" She giggled like a school girl. She shook her head, "Only Chris can do this to me." She thought to herself. She then stopped and said, "Just do it already!" she inhaled and exhaled in and out slowly, and closing her eyes, she was able to create the mist and form a rainbow. She said with such sincerity in her voice, "Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." She threw the drachma into the rainbow and it vanished. A little sputter of a noise confirmed that it was her turn to say something yet again. "Show me Chris Rodriguez." Her heart began to beat, corresponding with the seconds of time. In front of her, the clear air began to shimmer and form into what she exactly asked for. As soon as she saw Chris, she wanted to shout his name out, but stopped herself just in time. Chris didn't know he was in the middle of an Iris message, but Clarisse didn't mind. She just wanted to look at him for a few seconds, looking at his chiseled jaw, his new haircut, a faint patch of hair growing under his chin, she saw everything. She saw someone next to him, with long brunette curls, with her teeth brightly showing. Clarisse examined the place where _her _boyfriend and the girl she already hates were at. It was a lake, with the bluest waters she had ever seen. The trees were bright green, and it seemed to be that the pair was strolling alongside the sidewalk that followed the path of the lake. The brunette girl, she spoke, with an annoyingly high pitched voice.

"Chris, come on, you can't come with me to this gorgeous lake, with an amazing scenery, followed by a beautiful sunny day, with that look on your face!" she pointed at him.

Chris looked up and Clarisse saw the sparkle in his beautiful brown eyes. Her heart stopped for a second and she carefully placed her hand over it. "It's okay." She thought to herself.

"What look?" he grumbled.

"That look!" she poked at the corner of his mouth and he sighed.

"Sorry, I'm just, thinking of someone Gabby."

"Who?"

"This girl I've been seeing, you know her name, Clarisse."

"I don't really like her."

"You've never met her!" he scoffed while laughing.

"Well, she hasn't tried to contact you the past month, has she? She's making my Chris sad."

"_My?" _Clarisse angrily thought to herself.

Chris chuckled, "She's probably busy. She would contact me as soon as she got the chance too."

"I doubt it." Gabby smirked.

"And what about you, don't you have a boyfriend who hasn't called you in what, a week? You got angry over it, and I've been coping with a few days past a month!"

"I broke up with him; he took too long to phone me."

Chris laughed, "That's actually completely ridiculous."

"Maybe, but I know when and how to sort out something wrong in my life."

Chris paused and became silent. He saw a bench and immediately took a seat. His legs had grown tired, and Clarisse could see a scar near his ankle that had placed itself there due to the fight against Kronos. She frowned; she could tell he was missing her. Gabby sat next to him, and sat in silence for about half a second. Again, with her disgusting high pitched voice, she interrupted their moment of peace. "Chris?"

"Mhm?" he replied.

"If you had to choose between someone who was never there for you, and someone who is always there for you, what would you do?"

"What kind of question is that? I mean, the answer is obvious isn't it?"

She shook her head, "That's why I'm asking you."

"Of course I'd choose the person who is always there for me, wouldn't you?"

She beamed, "Exactly." Chris then reverted his eyes back to the water. It was like he was trying to command the water to still. His eyes then began moving, searching for tiny minnows when Gabby again called out his name. "Chris?"

He looked over to her and sighed; "Yeah?" she grabbed his face and kissed him right on the lips. Chris's eyes widened when she planted her lips on his, he first wanted to protest and pull away, but instead, he kissed her back. Clarisse's heart had shrunk 3 times smaller than it was, she felt like the Grinch. The color of her face changed from tan to completely pale. She screamed, "Get off him!" The couple broke apart and Chris said,

"Clarisse?" he looked her right in the eyes. Gabby, who couldn't see through the mist looked at him and asked, "What?" Chris saw the tears in Clarisse's eyes forming, while Clarisse angrily balled her fingers into a fist. She wanted to curse and hit him, but she also didn't want him to see her cry. Luckily, the time limit of the drachma had cut them off. Clarisse felt as though her body began to tense up with heat rapidly. She felt as though she was transported to the Underworld and her body was set on fire. The feeling she had earlier, her bones aching for him, suddenly changed from the feeling of euphoria to the feeling of despair. She quickly unlocked her door and sprinted to the bathroom. She turned on the water from the sink, and began gasping for air; she splashed it onto her face. The water shriveled on her skin and she felt an ounce better- but it wasn't enough. With her clothes on, she jumped into the shower and turned the knob. The ice cold water poured onto her as she stood with a blank look on her face. She waited for the water to take over her body and cool her off, and then she collapsed in tears. She slowly knelt down, and then sat down on the tub crying her eyes out, crying not only because of Chris, but because of what happened with Percy. She wanted to pretend it didn't bother her, but it stung. She punched the bathroom tiles and with a crack, it broke off from the wall. She didn't care; she just wanted to be released of the pain she felt in her chest. She again gasped for air in between her outburst of cries. She sat in the shower for about 10 minutes, until the cold began making her shiver. The tears however were still in her system. She wasn't the typical crier, and she figured that was probably the reason why she couldn't stop. She never dealt her hands of cards with sadness, especially with crying, and it was probably the time to pour it out. She stood up, turned the water off and retreated to her room. The tears suddenly stopped as she entered her room. She wiped her face, emotionless, she began to change. She threw on a t-shirt and some sweatpants and then she plopped herself down onto her bed. She buried her face in her pillow. She looked up mistakenly and she saw the picture of her and Chris. With the anger rising from her, and she grabbed it and threw it as hard as she could against the wall. It cracked and shattered. She breathed through her nose slowly, trying to contain the anger and preventing any possible reason to completely wreck her Aunt's home. She bottled it up, and as time passed, she fell asleep. She dreamed of the day they defeated Kronos. Chris had found her alone, looking over at the lives that were lost. He grabbed her hand and said, "Thank you."

"For what?" she said, continuing to look at the bodies.

"For helping me when I came out of the Labyrinth, you saved me."

She snickered, "That wasn't me, thank Mr. D."

"You nursed me back to health properly, and Mr. D just finished the job. You're amazing." He then slowly raised his hand to her cheek and kissed her. She kissed back, her stomach filling with butterflies. The feeling seemed to last forever, when her alarm clock blared into her ears. She woke up faster than Hermes could deliver a message, she was sweating, and her eyes were filled with tears. She wiped them and glanced over at the clock.  
_**7:00**_

She sighed as she got up. She walked on over to leave her room but stopped as she stepped on something awfully sharp, her foot had gotten cut and it bled a little. "Crap." She muttered. She knelt down to see what it was, and it was the photo frame she had thrown last night. She carefully picked up the picture of her and Chris. She eyed it, looking at how happy she was in the past. She crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. She sighed and thought to herself, "Please Zeus, let me get through this crap day, especially with Jackson stepping on my every move." She left, gently closing the door behind her. She had no more strength left in her.

***Sorry for the late chapters everyone, I've been just caught up with mountains of homework! My deepest apologies please enjoy this chapter. Thank you for all of your reviews, they really brighten up my day. Stay forever gold!**


	10. Fish Boy

**Previously on Iris Message - "Please Zeus let me get through this crap day, especially with Jackson stepping on my every move." She left, gently closing the door behind her. She had no more strength left in her."**

**One, I'm sorry for the _**late**_update for this. I've been really busy, with finals and everything.  
Two, thank you for all the reviews on this story. Honestly, I did not expect this to be a huge hit. A shout out to YourLogicIsFlawlessand _Geek Without Glasses _for their dedication to this story. The amazing reviews from all of you guys help inspire my writing! Again, thank you! Enjoy!

Percy sighed as he walked through the school's main entrance doors. He wasn't looking forward to the day at all. All he could think about was Clarisse, his guilt ate him alive last night and now, his mind was being overtaken by the sounds of Clarisse's short gasps for air. He could hear the kicks she was giving out from under the water. He heard her uncontrollable shrieks that echoed throughout the pool. He could see clearly how her hand rose from the water, gripping the free air while her body stayed underneath. He shook his head; he had to somehow shake the memory out, before it ruined him completely. He wasn't prepared to see Clarisse for first period; in fact, he was more worried that she'd break down in class. The only things that were keeping him going were that he had practice after school, and it was a Friday. He was glad that the school had decided to have the first day on a Wednesday, seeming as though the past three days were overwhelming enough as it is. He felt defeated; he just wanted to make it through the day with no problems whatsoever. He gave up on his negative thoughts, and proceeded on and walked over to his locker. It was his second time opening it, and he had no clue what the combination was. He dug into his backpack and searched for a bright blue sheet where all of his information was on. "There it is." He thought to himself as he reached and snapped his fingers onto the paper. It was crinkled to the max, and he had a tough time deciphering his combination through the water stains and grease from his chips. After a couple minutes he made out the numbers 00-07-12. He twisted the lock to the assumable correct combo and tried to open it. The locker wouldn't budge. He repeated the process over and over again until he gave up. He slowly headed to his class muttering the numbers under his breath. "Zero, seven, twelve. This is ridiculous; I can't even open my locker." He huffed. He continued to mumble the numbers. His eyebrows scrunched together, the last two numbers seemed familiar. He stopped and leaned against the wall, the answer behind the numbers were slowly coming to him until his train of thought was interrupted.

"Hey Percy." 

He looked up to see a friendly face, it was Paige.

"Paige." he said, smiling hugely at her. "Hey, how're you?"

Her face reddened at the sight of Percy's smile. "I'm fine, you alright? You seem a bit pale.

Percy smiled, "No, just thinking. Where you headed off to?"

"I have study hall, so basically I'll be sleeping for 50 minutes."

"Better than Chorus," He sighed.

"You sing?" she gaped her mouth.

"Not well, I didn't even sign up for it."

"They do that when they don't have enough children in an elective. I'm sorry it happened to you." She laughed. "Well count me in to one of your concerts; I want to hear your awful voice." She teased again.

"Shut up." He joked while smiling. "5 minutes till the bell, want me to walk you?"

Paige nodded. Inside she had butterflies flying around in her stomach. She tried her hardest not to be obvious, she was completely smitten. She prayed that Percy didn't see through her and know that she likes him. She couldn't help herself, she normally didn't become immediately attached to someone she met _three _days ago, but something about Percy just hit her. Maybe it was his skater-ish black hair, or his engaging green eyes. He was gentle, and kind. His art skills were also extraordinary. Now, her train of thought was interrupted by Percy's sudden action, and his soothing voice.

Percy grabbed her backpack and threw it over his shoulder. "Don't want you to bruise your shoulder or anything, Paige." He smirked and walked ahead. As they walked through the hallway, Paige and Percy's hands accidentally touched due to her swinging her arms. She blushed, but Percy didn't seem to notice what had happened. They made their stop upstairs at Paige's study hall.

"In the auditorium? Fancy." He smiled. His eyes peered inside the room.

"It's not the prettiest sight, I mean, it needs to be repainted." She laughed. Percy handed her the backpack and replied, "I should get going, don't want to be tardy on my third day."

She nodded, "Thank you." She whispered.

"Not a problem. See you in Art?"

"Of course."

Percy began to walk away and a few seconds after; Paige was confronted by a guy who was obviously interested in her. He was a bit taller than Percy. Anyone could tell the dude worked out, his muscles showed through his shirt. His head a bit bigger than his body was highly noticeable. He wore a football jersey, with the number one on his back. His eyes practically coming out of its sockets determined how huge his eyes were. "There's my girlfriend." He snickered as he grabbed Paige's wrist. She attempted to grab it back, and finally made her way out from his grasp. She held her wrist and rubbed it.

"Don't even think about it."

"Who was that guy you were with? You cheating on me?"

"It's none of your business."

"Sure it is, you're hanging out with some nobody, I at least need to know who it is."

"He's not a _nobody_, he's Percy, not that it has anything to do with you." She growled.

"Fish boy? You're cheating on me with fish boy over there?" Percy overhead the weak insult and from the stairway, he turned around to listen.

"I'm not cheating, nor am I your girlfriend. Don't you have somewhere better to be or something?"

"What's better than spending it with my girlfriend?" he sneered.

"Hopeless case you are." She scoffed, and walked away.

"Where are you going?" he snapped, he grabbed her arm once again and forcefully brought her towards him.

"OW! What the hell, Tyler! Let go!" she shouted. She began hitting him with her free hand. The incident began to form a crowd of people, cowards who wouldn't step up to help her. Percy walked towards them and calmly said,

"Let go of her."

Tyler sneered, "Are you ordering me to?"

"The only smart thing you've asked so for, man." He replied.

He let go and stepped towards Percy, being an inch away from his face. "I heard you were pretty popular in try outs the other day. That doesn't change who you are, to me, you seem like a spineless little bitch."

The crowd let out an "ooh" in shock. Paige's face looked extremely pale, whitened by what's happening. She managed to shout, "Shut up!" to the crowd. The crowd silenced.

Percy firmly replied, "You have big eyes, don't you? Since thinking isn't your strong suit, can't you see she's not interested?" In the corner of Percy's eyes, he could see some girls in the crowd covering the mouths. The boys turned white. He understood why, no one had ever insulted Tyler like he had just done.

Tyler's ears became scarlet. "What's it to you, huh? I don't think it's any of your business."

"Didn't she say the exact same thing to you before?" Percy asked. "What she is doing isn't any of your business, so leave her alone." He walked over to Paige and touched her hand, "C'mon, let's go." He held her hand.

"Over my dead body." Tyler shouted, grasping Percy's shoulder, he turned him around to get a good punch in. Percy pushed Paige out of the way, ducked Tyler's ginormous fists, and punched him right in the stomach. Tyler let out a gasp.

"Walk away with your dignity man." Percy pitifully recommended.

He turned again once more, but he heard Annabeth's sweet tone in his head. "Watch out Seaweed Brain!" He took her warning and ducked once more, and Tyler missed his shot again. Percy sighed, and punched him straight on his jawline. Tyler fell backwards, and fell upon the floor screaming in agonizing pain. The crowd stood still, and slowly they began to cheer and shout Percy's name. Claps too were heard loudly. Tyler's friends pushed through the crowd and snarled, "What happened?" their eyes bulged as they saw Tyler on the floor crying and whimpering. "You." One of them said, pointing their fingers at Percy.

"Me." He replied.

Tyler's friend rolled his fists into a ball and ran towards Percy. Only moments away from another fight occurring, a loud, uprising voice bellowed.

"ENOUGH!" Everyone quickly adjusted their head to see who had shouted. It was Mr. Gear. The vein popped out from his neck line which seemed to spark fear in everyone's hearts. The crowd vacated faster than Charybdis could swallow up boats. Percy gulped, his teacher, too scared him, but he held his ground. "Miss Shaw, please escort Mr. Jackson to his class, and anyone escort Mr. Furgress . . . to the nurse. He'll need assistance immediately." The 3 friends of Tyler's and Paige and Percy just stood there. "NOW!" he shouted. Tyler's friends grabbed Tyler by his arms and legs terribly, and helped him up. Paige quickly grabbed Percy's hand and ran down the stairs together.

"Percy, are you insane?" She angrily asked. Her hair had begun to match her skin tone.

"What?" he asked confused.

"You could've gotten hurt!" she exclaimed.

"Did I get hurt?"

"Well- no. . . . "

"Then what's insane? All I know is that some random guy I don't know at all grabbed you!"

"You shouldn't have hit him!"

"He tried to hit me first! What was I supposed to do? Take it?"

"I don't know! It's just that, no one's stupid enough to face Tyler!"

Percy's anger and annoyance rose, "Did you forget I'm new here? I don't know anything about anyone, or what I'm supposed to stay clear of!" he angrily shouted back. He stopped walking and let out a frustrated breath. "I'm sorry for interfering, what else could I have done?"

"Nothing, I'm sorry. Thank you for helping." Paige replied with a shaky tone. Percy's shouts gave her heart a wrong turn. It had an irregular beat to it.

Percy grunted as he continued to walk.

"What try outs?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Tyler, he said you went to try outs."

"Nothing, look, I can't talk right now, I have to get to class, I'm already late. See you." He turned his head and left before Paige could reply back. She was left standing alone. Her wrist was slightly bruised from Tyler's tight grasp. She felt guilty, because of her, Percy had fought Tyler. Because of her, Percy would soon be in trouble. Because of her, Percy was angry. She looked to the floor and closed her eyes. She wanted to go back just a couple minutes before, where she saw him leaning against his locker. If she had just left him be, nothing would've happened. She knew what Percy had said about not talking right now wasn't true. He could talk, but he just couldn't talk to her.

"Why's Jackson so pissy?"

Paige turned around to see Clarisse standing by the stairs. "Pardon?"

"What's wrong with Percy?"

Paige raised her eyebrows, she didn't have to answer this strange girl appearing before her, but to her surprise, she did. "He had a bit of trouble with someone else."

"Who?"

"Uh- er this guy named Tyler."

"Did he at least win?"

"W-win what?"

"The fight?" Clarisse rolled her eyes. "This girl is so slow." She thought to herself.

"I never mentioned a fight." Paige cleared up.

"You didn't have to."

"I uh have to go, nice talking to you, I guess." She mumbled, starting to turn her back on Clarisse.

"Next time," Clarisse shouted.

"Huh?" Paige responded.

"Next time," Clarisse said while walking toward her, "fight your own battles, and leave Jackson out of it."

"Excuse me?"

"Cut the crap, I mean it. Don't let others fight for you, that's just being weak." She said sternly.

"I didn't have him fight for me!" Paige snapped.

"So you're saying if you weren't involved, he would've fought this kid?"

Paige opened her mouth to speak but no words left her. This girl, out of nowhere, comes up to her and blames her for what had happened. The anger boiled inside of her, and she couldn't control it.

"You don't know anything, so stay out of it!"

Clarisse moved suddenly closed to Paige's face and whispered, "Don't talk to me like that. He's my friend, and you're not. It's pretty simple that I would want to defend him, and not you."

Paige suddenly felt 10 times smaller than she was. She moved her lips and mumbled out a few letters, but could not seem to face Clarisse. She was scary, a Mr. Gear kind of scary. She bit her lip and they stayed in silence for 30 seconds.

"This is the part, where you turn around, and leave." Clarisse said in a hushed tone. Paige did exactly as what Clarisse had said, and left her presence. Clarisse watched, glaring at Paige's back, waiting for her to turn around and look at her again. She didn't, and Clarisse walked to Chorus, hoping her and Percy wouldn't make eye contact.

****Intense chapter, hope you liked it!**


	11. Auditorium

**Previously on Fish Boy -  
"This is the part, where you turn around, and leave." Clarisse said in a hushed tone. Paige did exactly as what Clarisse had said, and left her presence. Clarisse watched, glaring at Paige's back, waiting for her to turn around and look at her again. She didn't, and Clarisse walked to Chorus, hoping her and Percy wouldn't make eye contact. **

Percy angrily stomped his way through the halls. "I can't believe this," he scoffed, "I do the single hand nicest thing a person could want, defending them against an arrogant bigot, yet I get the crap!" He raised his hand and clenched his fist. He slammed it against the brick wall and chipped off a piece. He saw the cracks he formed, his strength didn't scare him, he knew exactly what he was capable of. The concrete crumbled. He growled and muttered, "I should've done that to the jerk's face."

"Quit your whining, Jackson."

Percy didn't turn around, he knew exactly who was pestering him, and he wasn't okay with the timing. "Can you just leave me alone?" he shouted.

"Me, leave you alone? I've been asking you to leave me alone for centuries now! Now, you expect me to just follow your rules?" she shouted back. "Besides! This is the way to first period and you're blocking my way!"

Percy turned around and Clarisse jumped at the expression on his face. She rarely saw it, his eyebrow crashed together in fury, his teeth sinking into his lip to the point where it bled, his nose rising as he let out a growl. The only time she ever saw that look on Percy's face was when Annabeth was hurt. She knew she had to be careful with his emotions right now, even the most idiotic person would know that Percy was sensitive. She kicked herself in her head, "I've never been one to be concerned for someone's feelings, why start now?" She thought to herself.

"Well." He said breaking her thought, "I'll do what you want then, I'll go." He tried to walk around her, avoiding any touch but Clarisse slammed her shoulder against his as he walked through. She smirked,

"Watch where you're going."

He kept his eyes to the floor as he walked to the exit doors. He cleared his throat, "You know, I'm sorry about yesterday." His eyes faced forward, knowing that even though Clarisse was the daughter of Ares, if he even dared to look at her, she would cry. "I didn't know." He thought the silence would be his only answer and as he tried opening the door to leave a quiet voice piped up.

"You don't know anything about me Jackson." She whispered harshly. She quickly turned around to storm off but her face hit smack dab in the middle of someone's chest. "Hey watch it!" she growled. Her eyes traced the body up to its head; it was a man who was as old as the earth.

"What're you two kids doing here?" He snapped. Clarisse's eyes bulged. She wanted to run to the bathroom and wash her face off a hundred times, her face had just encountered a man who was as old as Olympus' chest, and she wanted to puke. Percy turned around to see the bald man, squinting at him to get a good look.

"We got lost." Percy lied. Clarisse was standing there still, in shock of what just happened.

"We'll get going now." He quickly rushed over to Clarisse, grabbing her arm.

"Now you wait just a second son!" he commanded him. He grabbed his waist pouch that was buckled around him. Percy could tell the old man had probably spent hours trying to get it on, his belly popped out, sagging. The buckle was minutes away from busting apart. The old man unzipped his pouch and took out two red slips. It was titled, with huge bolding uppercase letters, 'DETENTION.'

"Sir really? Detention is a bit uncalled for, don't you think? We just couldn't find our way to our class." Percy complained.

The old man took off his glasses and stared at Percy. After a few seconds, Percy felt extremely uncomfortable, his eyes flipped over to Clarisse, his eyes pleading for assistance, but he could tell she was in another world. The old man took a breath which happened to last for about 30 seconds. "You think because I'm over a thousand years old, I don't know when a student is lying to me about why he's not in class? Sorry to break it to you sonny but I've been here way too long to fall for an excuse like that. Afterschool tomorrow, don't be late." He enunciated the T in late a little longer than he was supposed to and he ripped off the slips for the two of them. The old man walked away, turning a corner.

"Clarisse!" Percy said shaking her. "C'mon, let's go before we get into any more trouble. CLARISSE!" he shouted. She jumped at the tone of his voice.

"What!" she shouted back.

"We got detention smart one, let's go." He said shaking his head, making his way down to Chorus.

***

"I can't believe I bumped into his chest." She muttered as they walked through the Chorus room doors.

"Your face bumped into his chest." Percy corrected.

"Shut it."

Percy was the first one to notice the Chorus room to be empty. "Clarisse, how bad does your breath have to be to scare off the whole class?"

"One more word Jackson and I'll have your spine in my hands." She threatened.

"What time is it?"

"So lazy that you can't even check the damn time yourself? It's on the wall over there." Clarisse snapped back annoyed.

"I was just asking! Why are you being such a Grinch?" His hands rose up and fell against his sides

"Mhm, let's see." She put one hand on her hip and the other with her finger pressed against her cheek. Percy scoffed, he didn't want to see the sarcastic show she put on every once in a while. He was sick of it but decided to pull through for one last show.  
"For one, you got us landed in detention!"

Percy's eyes widened and he snapped. "Me? Me!" he scoffed and laughed. "We are both equally to blame!" he said pointing his finger to him then to her.

She returned his scoff. "Me? I did nothing!"

"Exactly, if you weren't so busy daydreaming about the dude's chest then maybe just maybe you could've gotten us out of that situation!"

"Or maybe you could learn how to handle things yourself."

"Oh right, yeah, like I did with your dad?"

Clarisse's face turned scarlet. Percy's face turned white, he knew for sure Clarisse was going to lunge forth and tackle him to the ground. He was a bit relieved to know she didn't have her infamous electric spear. "Thank god I broke it." He thought to himself. He closed his eyes

The door flung open and the pair of them jumped. "Percy!" The flash of red hair that caught the corner of his eye told him exactly who it was. Percy sighed happily, "Saved by the ginger." He walked over to him. "Hey Matt." Percy grinned, they high fived and gave each other a hug "Where is everyone?"

"The auditorium, Schraga wants to tell us something apparently." Before he could turn to tell Clarisse anything, she was already out the door. Percy smirked and Matt said, "I just came to see if anyone was lost, and apparently you two were." Matt led the way out. "Feisty one she is." Percy laughed,

"Yeah, I guess so. She just is really kept to herself."

"Yeah, anyone could've guessed that huh?" They walked in silence and Matt decided he'd be the one to strike up a conversation. "You into her?" he asked curiously.

"Into who?" Percy replied as he looked around.

"Clarisse."

Percy almost choked on his own spit, "Clarisse? She hates me." He chuckled. They reached the auditorium and Percy was still laughing to himself, mumbling Matt's words over and over. "Into her," he smiled, "ridiculous." They entered the auditorium and when they walked down the stairs to go up on the stage Matt pulled him aside and patted his shoulder.

"You know Perce," he whispered, "None of those answers were the word no." He chuckled and walked onto the risers.

Percy stood giving Matt a bewildered look. He mumbled to himself, "What? There's no way that I could ever possibly see Clarisse as something more than what we are."  
He paused, "What are we now?"

"Mr. Jackson, please make your way upon the risers please, like the rest of your classmates." Mr. Schraga said as he raised his eyebrow.

Percy nodded embarrassedly and went to stand in the middle next to Matt who was grinning like the Cheshire cat. Percy hit him on the shoulder, chuckling. He looked to his left and saw Clarisse standing stiff, waiting for Mr. Schraga to give them an assignment that could keep her mind off killing Percy. He sighed; he came in today hoping to make things a bit better between him and Clarisse, or maybe ignoring her. However, he managed to turn the bloodbath into a bloody waterfall.

"Actually, you all may be seated, sit in the middle row of the seats please." Everyone made their way off the risers and sat in the auditorium seats, waiting anxiously for what their teacher was about to say. "Okay class. You're all wondering why we're not having our usual 50 minutes of get together in our room, aren't you all? Well, today I've noticed- well not today, always for the past 5 years, that everyone has their own cliques. You divide, and you never seem to be able to leave your comfort zones." He paused and with his index finger and thumb, he traced the lining of his beard. "I'm going to change this, maybe not for the whole school but for my classes. I know what you're thinking, I'm just a chorus teacher, and what do I know? Far more than you all realize. Each and every one of you guys will choose a song to sing in front of everyone." The class began to moan and speak out of turn. Mr. Schraga rose up his hand, "Enough!" The class fell silent. "As I was saying, you will all choose a song to sing, but not just any song, a song that reflects who you are, if you are truly uncomfortable in singing a song in front of your own classmates, then there is an alternative." The class broke out of their slouching postures and sat up straight, eager for their way out. Mr. Schraga's face broke out with a grin. It was a sneaky grin, like he was waiting for another outburst of a reaction from his class. "You can write a ten paged paper on why a certain song is specifically described for you."

Someone from the back managed to shout, "WHAT, THAT'S INSANE!" The class automatically began to agree and shouted out excuses and complaints. Percy just sat there with his jaw hanging out, and Matt was a part of the crowd shouting out his anger.

"That's not even a reasonable alternative!" he shouted cupping his hands around his mouth. Percy turned around to see Clarisse daydreaming. She wasn't even complaining, which was odd for him since that's all she was built up of; well excluding her strength and muscles. Mr. Schraga sighed and walked over to the stage. He grabbed the microphone and shouted into it.

"ENOUGH!" he repeated.

The class stopped and covered their ears at the loudness of his booming, echoing voice.

"You may do one or the other. That is my final decision. IMEA students may come up here and practice, the rest of you may talk. Other students wishing to practice for their assignment may also come forward."

Percy sighed and faced Matt. "What song are you going to do?" he asked.

"No clue man, as much as I hate singing, I think I might actually have to do it. No way am I writing a ten paged paper."

"Do you think we can do a duet or something?" Percy asked.

"I don't know, we'll ask after class. I have homework to catch up on, I was playing games all night yesterday, a voice in my head kept telling me to do my work, and I guess my conscience gives up after a while, huh?" Matt replied.

"Yeah, I guess." Percy smiled. His eyebrows scrunched up together as he portrayed his broody look. He thought about what Matt said, about the voice inside his head. He suddenly remembered Annabeth, he forgotten about how she warned him earlier today. He mumbled angrily to himself, "She has the decency to warn me when I'm in danger, but can't even send me an email about herself?" He got up and grabbed his phone and made his way to the stairs.

"Where you going?" Matt asked.

"Bathroom." He ran up the stairs quickly and left the auditorium, he went to a corner and texted Annabeth. "_Talk to me, what's going on? Why haven't you replied?" _He waited for 3 minutes for a reply, and of course he was yet again disappointed. He threw his phone across the hallway in anger. "Damn it!" He wanted to let out his frustrations on Tyler's face, or anyone. He knew he needed to cool down, so he walked to the nearest water fountain he could find and took a sip. The water always relaxed him, whether he was taking a swim, a shower, or even a nice cool drink. He decided to walk around the school, he didn't have it in him to stay in the auditorium for the remainder of his time, it would just bore him to death. He walked across the hallway and picked up his phone. It suddenly made a continuous beeping noise. It was his reminders, he had swimming practice afterschool, and well not exactly practice but he'll find out if he made the team. He was excited, the only excitement he could feel for the day. He walked around the school for about 30 minutes and went back to the auditorium. He thought about Annabeth, if she was finished with him. He loved her, he regretted not telling her about how he felt. He descended down the stairway and managed to sneak back to his seat without his teacher ever noticing he was gone.

"Dude, where've you been? Matt asked curiously.

"I just didn't want to stay in this stuffy auditorium for 50 whole minutes man."

"And you didn't care to invite me?" he asked sadly. "You suck."

Percy chuckled, "My bad, next time."

"Alright alright, hey don't forget about practice after school, I'll see you there? We'll find out if we made it, you definitely made it."

"Hey, you did too. So did Jude and Brody, we all did, you'll see."

The bell rang and his teacher shouted, "Remember, choose your songs, and report back to me what song you'll be singing. Have a nice weekend!"

Clarisse rushed out of the auditorium to the next class, Percy shook his head. Matt patted his back, "It's going to be a long day, don't worry."

"You're right about that, but you can't expect me to not worry with her."

"Careful now, don't want to upset your girlfriend." Matt smirked.

"Dude, I will pummel you." Percy laughed. They made their way through the crowd and Percy entered his next class, Greek Mythology.

****This was a bit longer because I haven't updated in quite a long time, expect a new update next Friday! Enjoy!**


	12. Classes (Again)

**Previously on Auditorium - "Dude, I will pummel you." Percy laughed. They made their way through the crowd and Percy entered his next class, Greek Mythology.**

Percy walked in to see Clarisse sitting all the way in the back. She had her ridiculously muscular arms folded, and her braid fell down upon her shoulder. It looked dangerous though, as if she was hiding some knife in it. He scoffed angrily and walked over to her. With one hand he grasped the strap of his backpack tightly. "Are you serious, you won't even sit in your regular seat because of how much you don't like me?" With his free hand he gestured his anger.

Clarisse rolled her eyes and began to grind her teeth. "Yeah! That's exactly why I moved, I don't like you; I don't understand how you haven't gotten the damn clue yet! Can't you just leave me alone!" she angrily replied.

Percy baffled by what Clarisse said gave out a little snicker. "You know, we were almost at the point of being friends, and I'm trying _really_ hard Clarisse." He said raising his voice.

"Well stop trying. I'm not your friend Jackson, I never will be."

The bell rang and one by one the students entered the classroom noisily. Percy shook his head giving out another short breathy laugh. He ran his fingers through his thick black hair and gave out a smirk. He went forth three seats and threw his backpack to the floor. He turned his head around to say one last thing to Clarisse, "Bet you put that drachma to good use, huh?" He then turned around and took in a huge breath and exhaled. Clarisse froze in anger, then she clenched her fists; she was sick and tired of Percy getting in her business, sticking his nose in where he didn't belong. She wished this was gym class, and they were playing capture the flag, she didn't need swords or weapons to hurt Percy. She had enough; she just wished the school year went by faster. Mr. Gear walked in the room with such baggage. Right off the bat you could sense that he was not in the mood today. It seemed as though he had a thundercloud right above his head. He slammed his coffee mug onto his desk, with coffee splattering all over. The front of the class jumped, hoping they wouldn't get splashed with scalding hot coffee.

"Listen up, it is a Friday, and I'm really trying to get through the rest of the day without yelling at anyone. So here's what you're going to do: work. I will be handing out two packets and several worksheets, you will do these worksheets in silence and independently. These are all due at the beginning of class Monday. Do not come up to my desk for anything other than if you're dying, or if someone else is dying. Is that clear?"

No student in the class dared to answer him; instead everyone just nodded their heads. "Oh, and if any of you dare to come up to my desk and ask me to go to the bathroom, please, be my guest and use the corner." Mr. Gear groaned angrily and mumbled to himself, "Incompetent fools." He then plopped down on his seat. He turned on his laptop and began banging on the keys with his hairy fingers. The class waited in silence, wondering why he wasn't passing out anything. The small red haired boy who had raised his hand a few days ago, was sitting in the front, and he decided to break the silence and chirped up, "Um- sir?"

Mr. Gear continued to type. The boy spoke a little louder and repeated himself. "Sir?"

Mr. Gear took off his glasses and with his thumb and index finger he held onto the bridge of his nose. He was obviously annoyed. He let out a long sigh then looked up and stared at the boy. Percy's eyes widened at the sight of it. Mr. Gear's eyes looked as sharp as a hawks, it was intimidating, and way more frightening than Medusa by far.

"_Wha__**t**_." He said stretching out the T.

"You d-didn't pass out the papers." He spoke softly while stuttering.

"I cannot hear you." Mr. Gear's voice became louder and intense.

Percy felt bad; the poor kid was seconds away from fainting. He was shaking, his whole body moved the chair and the desk, vibrating from one desk to another as it also moved his. If the kid kept this up, his constant shakes were soon to create an earthquake. The short boy reminded him of Nico, how they first met. Nico was innocent, young, and dependent on his sister. This guy had no one. To think about it, he also kind of resembled Nico, not the hair though, but his face. Percy felt guilt and he decided he had to help him. He knew he was making a big mistake for stepping up and speaking on behalf of him, but he couldn't watch Mr. Gear tear the dude apart.

Percy cleared his throat, "He said you didn't pass out the papers. You know, the sheets that are supposed to keep us occupied for the next 50 minutes."

Clarisse eyes reverted to Percy, and she growled softly. She wanted to throw a book at his head and scream. She closed one of her eyes and began to make an imaginary red target on the back of his head. She stopped herself as she took aim. She then concentrated and thought in her mind all the words she wanted to say in person, hoping he would receive what she was thinking. "What are you doing? Are you trying to get this class a buttload of homework on a Friday?" Percy shifted his head an inch but didn't look back at her; he moved his head only for her to know he knew what he was doing. "Jackson don't you dare make things worse for us!" she snapped in her mind.

"Well why don't you come up here and hand out the papers to the class Mr. Jackson?" Percy looked around and saw that all eyes were on him. He shrugged and got up from his seat and walked on over to Mr. Gear. Mr. Gear bent down and grunted as he lifted a huge, heavy stack of papers. It must've been at least two feet long, and Percy wanted to kick himself for getting involved in his teacher's moody day. "You will pass these out, one by one to the class, as I, go to the teacher's lounge and retrieve more coffee. Have fun." He then walked out leaving Percy with the stack of papers. The weight of it all didn't concern Percy; he held the cursed sky for a short period of time, and that had to be the biggest pain he ever experienced in life! A bundle of papers was easy for him. What the real problem was, how unorganized it was, and the papers fell one by one on the floor. He groaned, and began passing out random papers to the rows. He reached the boy in the front and he whispered to Percy,

"Thanks." He seemed embarrassed.

"It's really no problem, the guy's just having an off day I guess, probably couldn't get a girl's phone number." Percy replied smiling.

The class laughed and several other guys went up to Percy and offered to help him pass out the extreme amount of papers he had. He received lots of praise for having a backbone against the fiercest teacher in school. He enjoyed it, but the moment he took a quick glance at Clarisse, his happiness died down. She had her _"I want to kill you" _face on, and that always made Percy want to punch himself in the throat. He sat down back to his seat, and for the remainder of the class period, everyone talked. Mr. Gear didn't come back until the end of class, which was basically the last minute till the bell. No one finished their work, except Clarisse, who didn't talk to anyone the whole 50 minutes. The bell rang and Percy rushed out before Mr. Gear could confront him and ask him to stay after.

***

Percy took a twenty minute detour of the school, trying to convince himself that he wanted to catch up on the structure of the building. The real reason was because he was not looking forward to seeing Paige in Art. He thought about skipping the class altogether but as he turned a corner to go up the stairs hoping to escape to the roof, he saw the shadow of the drooping, saggy belly that had given him detention earlier today. He quickly left and before he could get caught by the ancient bald man, he went to his Art room. He stopped in front of the door and sighed as he turned the knob and went in. He apparently came at the wrong timing because as soon as he walked in, he was the center of attention. His teacher, Miss. Beckher gave a sweet smile. "Glad you can make it Percy, take a seat." As he looked around the room, he could tell the class needed a desperate distraction from their teacher, she was known to talk too much about a simple art procedure. Percy desperately looked with his eyes anywhere for an extra seat, but the only available one was next to Paige. He bit his lip and thought to himself,

"Just don't look her in the eyes Percy, you can get through 50 minutes if you don't look into her eyes, and hopefully Miss. Beckhler will talk for the whole period."

He sat down and kept his eyes on his teacher the whole time. He could feel Paige's intense stare drilling holes on the back of his head. Unfortunately, Miss. Beckhler finished a bit earlier on her supposed long art speech than expected, and Percy was left an open target for Paige to interact with. She finally spoke up,

"Hey." She whispered.

Percy didn't make eye contact, he focused on the scratches of writing on the table, and he smiled at the unnecessary use of words that were scratched down.

"Percy, look at me, I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault at all and I shouldn't have been so insensitive." She moved forward to grab his hand but he pulled it away just in time. She tensed up and he exhaled a tiny bit of air and rolled his eyes.

"Right, like that's really going to work." He thought to himself.

"Percy please, I'm sorry! What more do you want me to say? I-"

Percy cut her off as his hand rose in the air, praying that the teacher would look his way. She did, and she called on him. "Yes?"

"Uh- what exactly are we supposed to be doing?"

"Oh that's right!" she squeaked, clapping her hands together. "I forgot to give you all an assignment to do, silly me."

The class groaned and they all gave Percy an annoyed stare, he looked up to see all eyes on him and he replied back with a shout. "WHAT!" the class immediately turned their heads back around, shocked at his reaction. Paige's heart jumped. Percy was in the worst mood possible. She never knew that the sweetest boy that Percy was could have this much anger and a temper inside of him. She didn't blame him of course; however she couldn't let him be mad at her for the whole day. She knew that his anger would just continuously bottle up until he finally released it upon someone. She didn't want any more troubles, and honestly preferred if Percy just yelled at her to make her feel better. She harshly snapped at him to get his attention. "Will you look at me?"

Percy's facial expression changed from being annoyed to attentive, and his head slowly turned and he caught her eyes. Her blue eyes made him forget what he was angry at; the color of her eyes resembled the polished, glass reflecting water his dad Poseidon lived under. "Percy, I can't keep apologizing if you won't hear me out. This is the last time, but I'm sorry, okay? I know you were just trying to protect me, but look at me!" she pointed to her flaming red hair. "I'm strong, I got this, I can protect myself." She said while patting her chest, she then moved her hand over to his arm and squeezed it. "Thank you, okay? Thank you for helping me." Percy listen to her final plead of forgiveness, and he wanted desperately to forgive her, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. All he did was raise his eyebrows slightly, to give her the indication that he understood what she was saying.

"I'm taking that as you listened." She said softly. He moved his head back to its regular position and he began scratching a trident figure with his nails into the table.

His teacher passed out papers and told them all to draw whatever they'd like. He sighed, "Really? Again? This class is just a waste of my time." He said as he lifted his hands in the air, then dropping them with a thud. Everyone drew in silence for the rest of the period. He occasionally took a glance at what Paige was drawing, and she was drawing a Pegasus again. He gave a little smirk and sat staring at the window. When the bell finally rang, he was the first one out the door.

***

Percy walked to the cafeteria in defeat; his last class had made Percy wish he was being strangled by Ares. It was absolute torture; he didn't have a care in the word for Physics. At least by the strangling from Ares, he could die knowing he wasn't bored. Two girls walked past him complaining to the other, "Physics ruins lives." Percy chuckled.

"You know it." He thought to himself. He searched the room for Matt, locating his firey red hair, he walked on over and sat next to him. "Hey man." He said as he patted his shoulder.

"Hey Perce! What's up?" He muffled, with a mouthful of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Ugh, not good man, I'm really tired, and not in the best mood."

"You better lighten up, we have swim practice, or try outs, _again_, or finding out if we made it. . or something- I don't even know dude but I'm excited!"

"Yeah swim practice, or whatever. We all made it, that's for sure." Percy said giving a lob sided grin.

Matt beamed, "Yeah we did!"

The two of them ate and talked for the rest of lunch about their swimming season. Matt explained that the reason he had his passion for swimming was because when he was 4 years old, he was thrown into the deep end by his father. Before that he had been scared of water and his father helped him to realize that all it took was one stroke to get you started. From then on, the sentimental talk died down and Percy roared with laughter the whole period, Matt cracked with jokes, telling him all the ridiculous stories about his family. Percy enjoyed it, he didn't have a sibling- well other than Tyson, but he never had a complete _human _sibling and hearing stories of his family helped him imagine what it would be like. Matt raved on about his childhood, and if it was any other person describing their life story before him, he would've probably punched them in the nose from boredom. But, Matt was different, his stories actually interested Percy. Before the lunch period ended Matt asked Percy something as they walked out of the cafe. "Hey man, want to come over today? After swim practice y'know?"

"Sure, that'd be cool, let me just ask my mom later and I'll get back to you on that."

"Alright." Matt was grinning from ear to ear, he enjoyed Percy's company, and he was a genuine dude. He wasn't cocky, self-centered or rude, he was real. Matt knew Percy was a good looking guy, not that he was interested in him, but he observed the surroundings of where they always appeared to be and all the eyes of the girls were glued to him. They were never on him, and he was okay with that, having Percy as a friend was thrilling for him, since he never really received any attention in the first place. The lunch period ended and the two went to study hall. Their study hall wasn't the best, they were nowhere seated next to each other and all Percy could do was count the minutes of the clock till when the class finished. Every once in a while he would turn on his phone to see if he had any texts from Annabeth.

None.

The period ended and Matt and Percy went their separate ways.

"I'll see you after school." Matt said casually and he descended down the stairs.

***

The next two periods flew by pretty quickly and Percy was ready to dive into the cold relaxing water. He needed something to awaken him, something to soothe his skin. His 7th period class, Math, was boring as usual. He didn't pay attention to a single word his teacher was saying. She probably discussed numbers, systems and logs and Percy really wasn't caring for what she was teaching. It wasn't even close to what Percy wanted to hear. He fazed and toned everything out and really, the main thing he wanted to hear from was Annabeth. He missed her, and the pains in him continuously ached, building up each day. There was always something in his thoughts that centered on Annabeth, but it never seemed to be revealed to him. It felt like he needed to know this crucial information so he could understand clearly. But wouldn't it have already crossed his mind by now? Whenever he discussed with his own mind about Annabeth, he received headaches and it was an uncomfortable combination with Math. English class was a totally different story; it was fine, just _fine_, nothing else to it. It probably had to do with the fact that Paul was teaching it which caused Percy to pay close attention. He knew it meant a lot to him, and ever since Mom got rid of the pig, Gabe, Paul was a huge step up. And he was actually kind of fatherly like. He tried his best to listen into the conversations in which Paul was delivering, but he was dying to get out of his seat. His body fidgeting in the chair, he was ready to go swim. Before class had started, Percy left a note on Paul's desk saying he'd be out after tryouts and wouldn't be home till late. He knew his mom would be fine with it, plus, she needed alone time with Paul. He didn't have time to stay a bit after and tell Paul himself, because Percy needed to escape the reality of school once the bell rung.  
_**  
*BRRRINGGG***_****

Percy threw his backpack over his shoulder and ran out the door. He was so eager to just leave his dramatic school day behind and just enter into the placid water. With all the strength and speed inside of him, he rushed to the East side of the building. This was his second time entering the pool, and it still took his breath away. The sun reflected upon the yellow and orange tiles that covered the area of the pool. He compared his reaction to the pool to be a meter under the reaction of when he first met Annabeth. To him, nothing could beat it.

"Percy!"

He heard a British accent and he turned around to see Jude. Brody was also next to him giving a slight wave.

"Hey!" He replied with a grin. "Where do we find out if we made the team?"

"The coach is going to tell us in a few, we have to go get changed first though." Brody said. Percy's face lit up.

"Yes! That means we're going to swim, great!" he thought ecstatically to himself. The three of them began to walk to the locker room but they stopped due to hearing someone calling them.

"Hey guys, wait up!" They turned around to see Matt running towards them. They waved at him. Jude and Brody gave Matt a quick hug and patted him on the bag. Percy just gave him a quick high five.

"Let's go find out if we made the team yeah?" he said smiling. Percy chuckled and nodded, he then happily turned around to walk to the locker room. The door swung open with a loud creak and he heard,

"Matt! Jeez, can't you slow down and wait for once?" It was a girl's voice, sweet but stern.

Jude coughed raising his eyebrows. "Who's that?" He said gesturing his head towards her.

"My freshman sister-"

"Sophomore!" she snapped correcting him strictly.

"Sophomore, yeah whatever, guys she's Paige, Paige this is Jude, Brody, and-"

Percy's eyes widened. "No, it can't be, there's probably over twenty Paiges in the school." He knew in his gut he was unsure. He turned around quicker than Tyson could grab him for a bone crushing hug.

Brody grinned and raised one of his eyebrows, attempting to flirt. "Hey my names-"

"Percy?" she said shockingly and loudly, once she caught a glimpse of his wild black hair.

Brody made a face then cleared his throat, "Uh no my name's-"

"Paige?" Percy replied in a soft whisper.

**Cliffhanger sorry! I updated a day earlier for you guys, enjoy! Hope you like it! Write a review on your thoughts! **


	13. The Friendly Competition

**Previously on Classes (Again) -  
"Percy?" she said shockingly and loudly, once she caught a glimpse of his wild black hair.**

Brody made a face then cleared his throat, "Uh no my name's-"

"**Paige?" Percy replied in a soft whisper.**

"What are you doing here?" Percy asked puzzled.

"Um, I don't have a ride home and my brother-Matt, your friend uh, yeah he's driving me to my house, I mean our house after the practice you guys have." Paige rambled "This is unfortunate I wasn't expecting-."

"I'm sorry; you said Matt's your brother." Percy interrupted, with a very confused expression. Percy's eyes switched as he looked at Paige then to Matt. He observed their flaming manes covering their heads, and he wanted to punch himself in the face for not noticing the similarity. "Of course he's your brother." He mumbled.

"Wait a minute." Matt cut in. "How do you guys know each other?"

"Art. We have Art together." She informed. Percy's eyebrows scrunched together trying to put the puzzle pieces to fit correctly into one. He felt beyond stupid than usual. He has dyslexia and ADHD, which over the years grebut not being able to recognize and link together the two most obvious siblings was insane, especially for him. Why didn't he realize it before? He clicked his tongue in embarrassment.

Jude and Brody were standing a couple of steps back to watch the drama that was unfolding before them. "Damn, she's really pretty." Brody mumbled with a smirk.

"Sucks Percy got to her first, aye mate?" Jude snickered.

Matt growled, turned around and shouted, ""Nobody has _got _to her." He said as he used air quotes on the word _got_. "Nothing's going on between them!" He then faced Paige and asked quietly, "Is there?"

Percy interrupted before she could. "Dude, really? I have a girlfriend."

Matt's face returned to its normal color. Percy could tell he was relieved. "Seriously? Sorry." Paige seemed to be silenced by Percy's response and her hidden excitement of seeing Percy had left her. Her expression then formed into a small frown.

"You got a girlfriend mate?" Jude asked curiously.

"Yeah, she's not from here, but yeah." Percy said softly.

"That means she's not real." Brody chuckled.

Percy glared at Brody, "She is real." He said through his clenched teeth.

"Whatever you say man." Brody grabbed Jude by the arm, "C'mon, let's go change. We don't want Cunningham to kick us off the team for any reason." The two left to the locker room.

Percy exhaled a shot of air in annoyance. "I really don't like that guy." Percy thought to himself. Matt stood by silently waiting for his two friends to leave before he continued their previous conversation. "So, you two are friends?" he said as he pointed at them.

"Yes! Why is that so hard to believe?" Paige exclaimed.

"Because he's my friend! Can't you make your own freshman friends?" Matt argued.

"Once again!" her voice rising. "I am a _sophomore_! Besides, I like being friends with Percy and I'm sure he feels the same about me! Right?"

The spotlight shone on Percy, and he felt the attention as he felt four eyeballs gazing at him. He knew they were waiting on him to speak up. Percy cleared his throat, he knew he had to answer them sooner or later. He looked to the floor, avoiding any possible contact. "We're not friends Paige." He stopped, careful not to say another word, afraid that his voice would break. That's all he could say, that's all he wanted to say. If he had to choose between one or the other, it would all come down to Matt. He didn't dare look up, he was afraid he'd see Paige tear up. He didn't want Matt to see his point of weakness. Percy knew it would kill him to see the fire red haired sophomore girl he met in Art class crying. He quickly rushed to the locker room leaving the siblings behind.

Paige scoffed her unbelief as the tears began streaming down her face. She quickly wiped them with her long sleeve then began biting her lip. She bit her lip and chewed on bits of her chapped lips. This little habit of hers was compared to smokers who had their addiction. With them, trying not to smoke was hell, and the same applied for her and her small lips.

"Stop." Matt whispered, "You stopped that years ago, why are you starting it again?  
She ignored him and continued on. Matt sighed, "What'd you do to piss off Percy? Seriously the guy could be chained up for fifty years while being innocent and he'd be the one apologizing. The dude's freaking nice!"

Paige paused for several seconds then piped up. "I'm sure you heard of what happened to me this morning."

"With Tyler? Everyone knows- you know how this school is. A whisper in the hallways and bam everyone knows. I told you to stay away from him. I can't keep saving you from that creep. It's not my job!" Matt blustered.

"I never said it was! Anyways, you didn't have to today. Percy did." She retorted.

"Percy? Why?"

Paige raised her eyebrow. "Because believe it or not other people are kind like that, especially Percy!"

"Okay, then why is he pissed? I mean- I'm sure helping you out would be something a friend would do, wouldn't it?"

Paige's voice became unknown to any of mankind's ears. She muttered a collection of words which annoyed Matt. "I can't hear you, mumbler, speak up!"

Paige glared at Matt. "I yelled at him for helping. I thought he would've gotten hurt so I yelled at him for getting involved."

Matt sighed and closed his eyes. He put his arm around his sister. "That was- that was stupid."

"Thanks for the comfort." She grumbled.

"You know it's true." He said with a grin.

She nodded in agreement.

"If you want to be friends with Percy, go on then. But first you have to make amends with him."

"Not that I needed your permission, but thanks." She said with a smirk. "Got any ideas?"

Matt shook his head and laughed. "No way, this is your problem. I'm just here to give simple advice." Paige smiled and gave her brother a hug.

"Yeah some advice! Alright I'm going to go upstairs, up there in the seats. Just make a weird signal or wave or whatever when you guys are through, I guess I'll read. How long is this going to take?"

"An hour, give or take a few."

"Alright, don't embarrass me out there, do well!"

Matt chuckled and ran straight to the lockers.

*******

After everyone changed into their swim trunks, they all met out near the pool having different conversations. The whistle blew ringing in everyone's ears. Moans and groans were heard all around, colliding with the echoes from the whistle. "Alright!" Coach Cunningham shouted. "You all changed into your swim suits, but only some of you made the team. You all did great, but there were cuts I had to make. I'd like you all to go check up on the board over there-"Coach couldn't finish his sentence because a crowd of swimmers ran over to the exact spot, almost trampling him. Racing to reach the bulletin board, Brody pushed everyone out of the way and got there first. He fist pumped the air several seconds after.

"Man it was obvious." he said coolly.

Percy scoffed, "Arrogant scum."

Jude was next and as he examined the sheet, he simply clapped and walked over to Brody. Matt and Percy looked at each other and gave each other a slight grin. Percy's grin aimed to be apologetic to Matt and he replied by grabbing the nape of Percy's neck and smacking it playfully. "C'mon, let's see if we made the team man." They managed to push through the crowd and Percy encountered the sheet. With his finger, he traced down the vertical list of names until he saw his. There it was, in capital letters:

_**PERCY JACKSON**_****

Percy smiled hugely, and waited for Matt to browse through the list of names to find his. "I made it!" Matt shouted happily.

"What'd I tell you? Of course we'd make it!" Percy said grinning like a dog that just ate a piece of meat off the kitchen floor.

"That's surprising." Percy heard Brody whisper to Jude. Percy clenched his fist but chose to ignore it.

"You were right man." Matt said grinning from ear to ear. The people who did not make the team dropped their shoulders and stomped their way back to the locker room, with the Coach avoiding their eye. Just then the pack of swimmers near the board began to clear off to the sides, splitting like the red sea. Hunter approached it. Percy knew Hunter gained the respect of the team; he was feared, honored, and talented. Hunter gave a nod to his swim group that he had made the team. Percy watched as the serious, determined, frightening (not to him at least) Hunter gave a quick smirk and jumped into the water. As he came up from the water, he winked to someone above. Percy turned his head and looked up quickly glancing at Paige. She was eyeing Hunter down, blushing and Percy suddenly felt hot in his cheeks. "Let's go." He said to Matt.

"Huh?"

"The water, let's get in." Percy dove in before Matt could agree. Percy never felt more peaceful. The sense of euphoria came back to him. Oh how he loved the feeling of cool water. How it teased his body, as if it was giving him a hug. Percy tried to grasp the water, always curious to why it shouldn't be held, but loved the idea of the liquid fleeing from his fingers. He took a quick gasp of breath then swam under. He swam across the pool, seeing various colors and patterns of swimsuits. Percy laughed at the ridiculousness of them all. He browsed through the gorgeous tiles that were laid out at the bottom of the pool, flashing at his glance of it. Having lost track of time, he swam for a little bit longer until he finally rose up. He shook his hair violently and he saw his friends gaping at him.

"What?" Percy asked concerned.

"You were down there for like 10 minutes without any air, mate." Jude replied.

"That's insane; he probably took a quick breath every 30 seconds." Brody said rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I did." Percy said in a monotone voice. Brody and Jude swam away from them leaving only Matt to continue his impressed stare. Matt stared at Percy and said,

"I know you didn't, how'd you learn to contain your breath?"

"Oh come on, you really think I can hold my breath for ten minutes underwater? I took a breath every 30 seconds, really." Percy said chuckling through his fib.

"I didn't see you come up."

"I did, it was very stealthily but I did."

Matt gave in to Percy's lie, "Alright man, you gotta teach me that then."

"No problem." Percy said grinning. Percy looked up to see Paige reading, she had on thick black glasses, Percy never saw her with glasses before, she seemed, sophisticated. The sun had caught her hair and it seemed like her hair was shining like a ruby, fire red like a phoenix. Matt caught sight of Percy looking at his sister.

"Not friends huh?" he said.

Percy quickly faced him. "We're not friends, at least for now."

"Oh come on, she was just worried about you."

"She told you?"

"Of course, I'm her brother. Listen, that's what she does, she gets worried and scolds. She's exactly like my mom. You'll end up forgiving her sooner or later, she's very convincing."

"I bet" Percy mumbled. "I still don't believe you two are related, I mean, she's so pretty and you, well." Percy joked.

Matt raised his eyebrow and smacked the water into Percy's face. Percy laughed, "I'm kidding, you look pretty too Matt."

"Alright, gather around everyone, swim over here." Cunningham announced. One by one everyone gathered into a little herd in one side of the pool. "Congratulations to all of you for making the team, I hope to have a winning season, not just a good one you all hear?" The team cheered and Coach chuckled. "Today, we're going to have ourselves a friendly competition, just fun and games but the winner will have some sort of a prize that will come to them in a very good way. I will be choosing who you will verse against; all we're doing today is seeing your speed and skill. It's just swimming to the other side and back, you all can handle that yes?"

Everyone replied with either a nod or a murmur of a "yes."

"Good, first up will be Jensen against Matt."

"Jensen? Who's that?" Percy asked Matt.

"It's Brody, Jensen's his last name."

Percy snickered, "Sucks you have to verse against the sack of cockiness."

"We'll see how cocky he is when I beat him." Matt said raising his eyebrows.

The team started cat calling and cheering the two on. Percy clapped and shouted, "You got this Matt," whereas Jude was cheering on for Brody. Percy looked up to see Paige setting her book down to witness her brother and the guy who attempted to hit on her. Matt and Brody got into their positions and Cunningham shouted,

"Alright, when I blow this whistle, you better dive- one, two, three, GO!" He blew the whistle with a puff of his breath and the pair was off. Percy watched in fascination as Matt swam with such intensity. He was in the lead, if Percy wasn't the son of Poseidon, Matt would have surely kicked his ass in swimming. Brody was using his arm strokes aggressively, slapping the water as he moved, whereas Matt used his arm strokes like a strong paddle, carefully dipping into the water with speed but also with such grace. Matt made it to the end several seconds before Brody did and used his legs to kick off the edge to get a head start back. Brody reached the end, gasping for air and dog paddled his way away from the edge. Matt ended the "friendly" competition by making it to the starting position, breathing heavily; he touched the starting point to clarify to his Coach who indeed won. Percy clapped and smiled hugely, reaching out for his hand to pull him out of the water.

"Matt, you were great!" Percy said astonished.

"Yeah, people underestimate a ginger, especially Brody." Percy and Matt turned to see if Brody had finally finished and he was. He was struggling to get out of the water, and Jude and Chris had to help him up.

"Alright, the winner is Matt! Good job." The coach announced smiling. Everyone clapped and Matt grinned. There was another loud cheer for Matt and the whole team looked up. Paige was screaming and shouting.

"YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, GO MATT."

Matt's face reddened and glared at his sister to stop embarrassing him. She caught his glare and sat down, taking a hint. Percy chuckled. "You two are too close."

"Tell me about it." Matt groaned.

***

Everyone in the team eventually got their turn for the competition. There were a lot of losses and wins that surprised Percy. He had the arrangement of who had skill and who hadn't in the back of his mind and after viewing the race, he had different opinions. "I guess I shouldn't judge." He thought to himself. He waited patiently for his turn and as people continued to get their name called, he realized the coach was saving him for a race that no one would forget.

"Percy and Hunter." The coach announced. The room died down after their clap for the victor before them. Matt's eyes widened and he whispered in Percy's ear.

"Good luck, not that you'll need it."

Percy chuckled, "Thanks."

The team looked to Hunter, then to Percy multiple times and then they broke out in light whispers. Hunter raised one of his bushy eyebrows and crossed his arms. His muscles seemed to pop out, along with his veins. Hunter then spoke for the very first time. "Shut up." No one was aware who he was talking to and everyone quieted. "I want this gym to only hear the splashes of the water, when I verse this kid. No one makes a noise; I want to hear the final movement of water when I beat him." He said all this with a constant straight gaze at Percy, not breaking his contact with him at all. Percy decided to not break his stare either, and then spoke up.

"Afraid the noise is going to distract you?"

The pool filled with the sound of the team's short gasps. Percy could see the petrified looks on their faces. They looked at each other and Percy could read some of their thoughts. "Hunter's going to kill this dude."  
"Who does this guy think he is?"  
"Yup, he's done for."

Hunter's calm demeanor changed to a look in which he consumed all of his anger from his past life and present time. His stare turned into a stare of death, but Percy didn't care. He's seen it all, from Hades to Ares to Clarisse to Dionysus. All of whom didn't frighten him at all, well, except Clarisse. Percy could handle Clarisse, even if it was a fraction of a small number, but if he could face her, he was prepared to face Hunter. His face contorted in anger and his lips narrowed. Then he moved to the starting position. Percy smirked and followed, and he prepared himself for a phenomenal dive. He thought to himself, "This one's for you Annabeth." The whistle rang in Percy's ears and he dove in. Percy swam in his below normal rate for a while, hoping Hunter would catch up. Percy was wrong, for Hunter was ahead of him, gliding through the water. It was like Hunter was a cheetah; however there was a problem with that: Cheetahs' speeds were useless in water. Percy sped up quicker, going at his normal rate, he then began passing Hunter as a swordfish would to their predators. Percy quickly tapped the end of the pool, enough so that the witnesses at the end saw his touch, then kicked off and he glided through its luxurious depths. Percy felt as though at that moment, he was immortal. His hard breaths gave his arms and legs the instructions of a specific stroke, pushing him harder to reach the starting line fast. He was in his own zone, and as he sensed he was near the end, he stuck out his hand and felt the concrete block of the pool stopping him. He lifted his head up from the water and shook his hair. He rubbed the water out of his eyes and looked up to see everyone's gaping face. He saw jaws dropping, and Matt staring in disbelief.

"Holy crap." Brody said.

Matt shook off his incredulous stare and helped Percy out of the pool.

"Thanks, did I win?" Percy said as Matt handed him a towel.

Everyone forgot that there was a competition and turned to see if Hunter was still swimming, and he was. He had just now finished and he pushed people out of the way that were trying to help him out. His lips curved into a growl and he rushed to the locker room with half of the team following after his footsteps.

"Jackson, that was amazing. That was, I think a record breaker, you swam incredibly fast, and next time we're going to time that. I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that in my entire life, welcome to the team." He walked away and Matt jumped up and down.

"DUDE HOW-WHAT-HOW?"

Percy smiled hugely, "I beat him." He felt all giddy inside, and thought, "Thanks Annabeth."

"Hell yeah you did! Okay, we have to talk more about this, you're coming over right?"

Percy ultimately forgot he had plans with Matt, he was glad he left a note for Paul. "Yeah, sorry totally forgot, wait is practice over?"

"I wouldn't call it a practice but yeah it's over."

"Alright, sweet let's go."

"Want me to go to the locker room and get your clothes? I don't think you'll want to face Hunter."

Percy laughed, "I'm not scared of him. Come on." As they walked into the locker room, Percy looked back and saw Paige watching him. He gave her a half smile and she beamed with sheer delight. He proceeded on in the locker room. Upon entering, Percy and Matt jumped at a loud locker slam, which happened to be Hunters.

"The slick cheated didn't he?" Hunter yelled as he put on his shirt. "He probably didn't even reach the end and just went back to the start halfway through." The team nodded in agreement out of fear.

Percy cleared his throat. "C'mon Hunter, no need to get mad over this, you know I didn't cheat." Percy said as he walked towards him.

"If you didn't, then that whole race was just a fluke." He said calmly this time.

"What makes you think that was a fluke?"

Hunter met Percy halfway and was an inch away from his face. Ignoring his question, Hunter spoke. "If you think, you'll take team captain away from me, you're wrong." He whispered. He then lightly patted Percy on the cheek two times, before hitting him a bit harder for the third time. He smirked and turned to walk away; or at least tried to before Percy grabbed him by the shoulder, and then grasped the collar of his shirt with his hands. He then slammed his body against the lockers.

Percy turned to stare down any of the teammates who wished to interfere. They immediately froze as they saw the seriousness in his eyes. Percy then paid his attention to Hunter. "I'm pretty sure you're overly protective over your role in this team, and I don't care if I'm team captain or not. I really don't, so get over yourself man. I'll give you a rematch anytime, it's up to you. I'd be happy to give you any sort of clarification." Percy let go of his grasp and grabbed the clothes out of his locker. He then patted Matt on the back and they left the locker room. Percy could feel the tension in the room, and the eyeballs glued to his back as he walked out.

***** Bit of a longer chapter for you guys! Sorry Clarisse wasn't in this one, she will be soon. Hope you enjoy. I know some of this stuff is getting kind of boring, but I have this whole dramatic horrifying thing planned out for the later chapters. I'm not going to stop writing this story for a long time, so stay tuned. I promise, you'll enjoy it if you're patient. Drop some reviews please! Oh and if you're a fan of Harry Potter, I have a story called After the War: Ron and Hermione if you want to check it out. Once again, enjoy!**

D.W  



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